Clarifications to "About forks" (#31979)

Co-authored-by: Jenni Christensen <97056108+dihydroJenoxide@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Jamie Strusz <5758031+allthedoll@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: isaacmbrown <isaacmbrown@github.com>
Co-authored-by: Isaac Brown <101839405+isaacmbrown@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Matt Pollard <mattpollard@users.noreply.github.com>

content/get-started/quickstart/fork-a-repo.md

@@ -218,7 +218,7 @@ You can make any changes to a fork, including:
 - **Opening pull requests:** If you want to contribute back to the upstream repository, you can send a request to the original author to pull your fork into their repository by submitting a [pull request](/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/proposing-changes-to-your-work-with-pull-requests/about-pull-requests).
 
 ## Find another repository to fork
-Fork a repository to start contributing to a project. {% data reusables.repositories.you-can-fork %}
+Fork a repository to start contributing to a project. {% data reusables.repositories.you-can-fork %} For more information about when you can fork a repository, see "[AUTOTITLE](/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/working-with-forks/about-permissions-and-visibility-of-forks)."
 
 {% ifversion fpt or ghec %}You can browse [Explore](https://github.com/explore) to find projects and start contributing to open source repositories. For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/get-started/exploring-projects-on-github/finding-ways-to-contribute-to-open-source-on-github)."
 

content/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/working-with-forks/about-forks.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 title: About forks
-intro: A fork is a copy of a repository that you manage. Forks let you make changes to a project without affecting the original repository. You can fetch updates from or submit changes to the original repository with pull requests.
+intro: A fork is a new repository that shares code and visibility settings with the original “upstream” repository.
 redirect_from:
   - /github/collaborating-with-issues-and-pull-requests/working-with-forks/about-forks
   - /articles/about-forks
@@ -14,29 +14,42 @@ versions:
 topics:
   - Pull requests
 ---
-Forking a repository is similar to copying a repository, with two major differences:
 
-* You can use a pull request to suggest changes from your user-owned fork to the original repository in its GitHub instance, also known as the *upstream* repository.
-* You can bring changes from the upstream repository to your local fork by synchronizing your fork with the upstream repository.
+## About forks
+
+Forks let you make changes to a project without affecting the original repository, also known as the "upstream" repository. After you fork a repository, you can fetch updates from the upstream repository to keep your fork up to date, and you can propose changes from your fork to the upstream repository with pull requests. A fork can be owned by either a personal account or an organization.
+
+When you view a forked repository on {% data variables.product.product_name %}, the upstream repository is indicated below the name of the fork.
+
+![Screenshot of a repository's page on GitHub. Below the name of the repository, "mona/docs", the text "forked from github/docs" is outlined in orange.](/assets/images/help/pull_requests/fork-path.png)
+
+In open source projects, forks are often used to iterate on ideas or changes before incorporating the changes into the upstream repository. {% data reusables.repositories.about-giving-access-to-forks %}
+
+Deleting a fork will not delete the original upstream repository. You can make any changes you want to your fork, and there will be no effect on the upstream. For example, you can add collaborators, rename files, or generate {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %} on the fork without affecting the upstream. {% ifversion fpt or ghec %} After a fork is deleted, you cannot restore the fork. For more information, see "[Restoring a deleted repository](/articles/restoring-a-deleted-repository)."{% endif %} If you delete a private repository, all forks of the repository are deleted.
+
+## About creating forks
 
 {% data reusables.repositories.you-can-fork %}
 
-{% ifversion fpt or ghec %}
+For instructions for forking a repository, see "[AUTOTITLE](/get-started/quickstart/fork-a-repo#forking-a-repository)." For more information about when you can create forks, and the permission and visibility settings of forks, see "[AUTOTITLE](/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/working-with-forks/about-permissions-and-visibility-of-forks)."
 
-If you're a member of an {% data variables.enterprise.prodname_emu_enterprise %}, there are further restrictions on the repositories you can fork. {% data reusables.enterprise-accounts.emu-forks %} For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/enterprise-cloud@latest/admin/identity-and-access-management/using-enterprise-managed-users-for-iam/about-enterprise-managed-users){% ifversion fpt %}" in the {% data variables.product.prodname_ghe_cloud %} documentation.{% else %}."{% endif %}
+{% tip %}
 
-{% endif %}
+**Tip:** {% data reusables.repositories.desktop-fork %}
 
-{% data reusables.repositories.desktop-fork %}
+{% endtip %}
 
-Deleting a fork will not delete the original upstream repository. You can make any changes you want to your fork—add collaborators, rename files, generate {% data variables.product.prodname_pages %}—with no effect on the original.{% ifversion fpt or ghec %} You cannot restore a deleted forked repository. For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/repositories/creating-and-managing-repositories/restoring-a-deleted-repository)."{% endif %}
-
-In open source projects, forks are often used to iterate on ideas or changes before they are offered back to the upstream repository. When you make changes in your user-owned fork and open a pull request that compares your work to the upstream repository, you can give anyone with push access to the upstream repository permission to push changes to your pull request branch (including deleting the branch). This speeds up collaboration by allowing repository maintainers the ability to make commits or run tests locally to your pull request branch from a user-owned fork before merging. You cannot give push permissions to a fork owned by an organization. 
-
-{% data reusables.repositories.private_forks_inherit_permissions %}
+## Forking a repository versus duplicating a repository
 
 If you want to create a new repository from the contents of an existing repository but don't want to merge your changes to the upstream in the future, you can duplicate the repository or, if the repository is a template, you can use the repository as a template. For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/repositories/creating-and-managing-repositories/duplicating-a-repository)" and "[AUTOTITLE](/repositories/creating-and-managing-repositories/creating-a-repository-from-a-template)".
 
+Forking a repository is similar to duplicating a repository, with the following differences.
+
+* You can use a pull request to suggest changes from your fork to the upstream repository.
+* You can bring changes from the upstream repository to your fork by synchronizing your fork with the upstream repository.
+* Forks have their own members, branches, tags, labels, policies, issues, pull requests, discussions, actions, projects, and wikis.
+* Forks inherit the restrictions of their upstream repositories. For example, branch protection rules cannot be passed down if the upstream repository belongs to an organization on a {% data variables.product.prodname_free_team %} plan.
+
 ## Further reading
 
 - "[AUTOTITLE](/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/getting-started/about-collaborative-development-models)"

content/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/working-with-forks/about-permissions-and-visibility-of-forks.md

@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+---
+title: About permissions and visibility of forks
+shortTitle: Permissions and visibility
+intro: The permissions and visibility of forks depend on whether the upstream repository is public or private, {% ifversion fpt %}and whether it is owned by an organization{% else %}whether it is owned by an organization, and the policies of your enterprise{% endif %}.
+versions:
+  fpt: '*'
+  ghes: '*'
+  ghae: '*'
+  ghec: '*'
+topics:
+  - Pull requests
+---
+
+## About permissions for creating forks
+
+{% data reusables.repositories.you-can-fork %}
+
+{% ifversion fpt or ghec %}
+
+If you're a member of an {% data variables.enterprise.prodname_emu_enterprise %}, there are further restrictions on the repositories you can fork. {% ifversion ghec %}{% data reusables.enterprise-accounts.emu-forks %}{% endif %} For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/enterprise-cloud@latest/admin/authentication/managing-your-enterprise-users-with-your-identity-provider/about-enterprise-managed-users){% ifversion fpt %}" in the {% data variables.product.prodname_ghe_cloud %} documentation.{% else %}."{% endif %}
+
+{% endif %}
+
+Organizations can allow or prevent the forking of any private repositories owned by the organization{% ifversion ghec or ghes or ghae %}, and enterprises can enforce policies to specify where members can create forks of private or internal repositories. Policies control the options available to the enterprise's organizations.{% endif %}. For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/organizations/managing-organization-settings/managing-the-forking-policy-for-your-organization){% ifversion fpt %}."{% else %}" and "[AUTOTITLE](/admin/policies/enforcing-policies-for-your-enterprise/enforcing-repository-management-policies-in-your-enterprise#enforcing-a-policy-for-forking-private-or-internal-repositories)."{% endif %}
+
+## About visibility of forks
+
+A fork is a new repository that shares code and visibility settings with the upstream repository. {% ifversion not ghae %}All forks of public repositories are public.{% endif %} You cannot change the visibility of a fork.
+
+All repositories belong to a repository network. A repository network contains the upstream repository, the upstream repository's direct forks, and all forks of those forks. All forks in the repository network have the same visibility setting. For more information, see “[AUTOTITLE](/repositories/viewing-activity-and-data-for-your-repository/understanding-connections-between-repositories).”
+
+If you delete a repository or change the repository's visibility settings, you will affect the repository's forks. For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/working-with-forks/what-happens-to-forks-when-a-repository-is-deleted-or-changes-visibility)"
+
+## About permissions of forks
+
+{% data reusables.repositories.private_forks_inherit_permissions %}
+
+Public forks do not inherit the permissions structure of the upstream repository. {% data reusables.repositories.about-giving-access-to-forks %}
+
+### Important security considerations
+
+If you work with forks, or if you're the owner of a repository or organization that allows forking, it's important to be aware of the following security considerations.
+
+- Forks have their own permissions separate from the upstream repository.
+- The owners of a repository that has been forked have read permission to all forks in the repository's fork network.
+- Organization owners of a repository that has been forked have admin permission to forks created in personal user namespaces, including the ability to delete the fork and its branches.
+- Organization owners of a repository that has been forked have read permission to forks created in organizations, but do not have the ability to delete the fork or its branches.
+- Forks created in another organization will not be deleted when individual access is removed from the upstream repository.
+- Commits to any repository in a fork network can be accessed from any repository in the same fork network, including the upstream repository.
+
+### About forks within an organization
+
+Forks within the same organization copy the collaborators and team settings of their upstream repositories. If a repository is owned by an organization:
+- That organization controls the permissions of its forks. 
+- Any teams from the upstream permission structure that exist and are visible in the target organization or user namespace will have their permissions copied.
+- Admin permissions remain with the upstream owner, except when a user forks into a different organization.
+- If that repository is forked to a user namespace, the organization maintains admin permissions and any teams with access maintain access.

content/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/working-with-forks/index.md

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ topics:
   - Pull requests
 children:
   - /about-forks
+  - /about-permissions-and-visibility-of-forks
   - /configuring-a-remote-repository-for-a-fork
   - /syncing-a-fork
   - /allowing-changes-to-a-pull-request-branch-created-from-a-fork

data/reusables/repositories/about-giving-access-to-forks.md

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+If you fork a public repository to your personal account, make changes, then open a pull request to propose your changes to the upstream repository, you can give anyone with push access to the upstream repository permission to push changes to your pull request branch (including deleting the branch). This speeds up collaboration by allowing repository maintainers to make commits or run tests locally to your pull request branch from a user-owned fork before merging. You cannot give push permissions to a fork owned by an organization. For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/working-with-forks/allowing-changes-to-a-pull-request-branch-created-from-a-fork)."

data/reusables/repositories/private_forks_inherit_permissions.md

@@ -1 +1 @@
-Private forks inherit the permissions structure of the upstream or parent repository. This helps owners of private repositories maintain control over their code. For example, if the upstream repository is private and gives read/write access to a team, then the same team will have read/write access to any forks of the private upstream repository. Only team permissions (not individual permissions) are inherited by private forks.
+Private forks inherit the permissions structure of the upstream repository. This helps owners of private repositories maintain control over their code. For example, if the upstream repository is private and gives read/write access to a team, then the same team will have read/write access to any forks of the private upstream repository. Only team permissions (not individual permissions) are inherited by private forks.

data/reusables/repositories/you-can-fork.md

@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 {% ifversion ghae %}
-If the policies for your enterprise permit forking private and internal repositories, you can fork a repository to your personal account or an organization where you have repository creation permissions. For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/organizations/managing-peoples-access-to-your-organization-with-roles/roles-in-an-organization)."
+If the policies for your enterprise permit forking private and internal repositories, you can fork a repository to your personal account or to an organization where you have permission to create repositories. For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/organizations/managing-peoples-access-to-your-organization-with-roles/roles-in-an-organization)."
 
 {% elsif ghes or ghec %}
-You can fork a private or internal repository to your personal account or an organization on {% data variables.location.product_location %} where you have repository creation permissions, if settings for the repository and your enterprise policies allow forking.
+You can fork a private or internal repository to your personal account or to an organization on {% data variables.location.product_location %} where you have permission to create repositories, provided that the settings for the repository and your enterprise policies allow forking. Generally, you can fork any public repository to your personal account or to an organization where you have permission to create repositories{% ifversion ghec %}, unless you're a member of an {% data variables.enterprise.prodname_emu_enterprise %}{% endif %}.
 
 {% elsif fpt %}
-If you have access to a private repository and the owner permits forking, you can fork the repository to your personal account, or an organization on {% data variables.product.prodname_team %} where you have repository creation permissions. You cannot fork a private repository to an organization using {% data variables.product.prodname_free_team %}. For more information, see "[AUTOTITLE](/get-started/learning-about-github/githubs-products)."
+You can fork any public repository to your personal account, or to an organization where you have permission to create repositories. If you have access to a private repository and the owner permits forking, you can fork the repository to your personal account, or to an organization on {% data variables.product.prodname_team %} where you have permission to create repositories. You cannot fork a private repository to an organization using {% data variables.product.prodname_free_team %}. For more information about {% data variables.product.prodname_team %} and {% data variables.product.prodname_free_team %}, see "[AUTOTITLE](/articles/githubs-products)."
 {% endif %}