Git Forking Vs Branching

Forking

Pros

• Keeps branches separated by user
• Reduces clutter in the primary repository
• Your team process reflects the outside contributor process

Cons

• Makes it more difficult to see all of the branches that are active (or inactive, for that matter)
• Collaborating on a branch is trickier (the fork owner needs to add the person as a collaborator)
• You need to understand the concept of multiple remotes in Git
  • Requires additional mental bookkeeping
  • This will make the workflow more difficult for people who aren't super comfortable with Git

Branching

Pros

• Keeps all of the work being done around a project in one place
• All collaborators can push to the same branch to collaborate on it
• There's only one Git remote to deal with

Cons

• Branches that get abandoned can pile up more easily
• Your team contribution process doesn't match the outside contributor process
• You need to add team members as contributors before they can branch