[oxtopus]

Consider that git is a database of snapshots-in-time with an interface to append your own snapshot(s), and a protocol for distributing the revised timeline to others.

`git fetch` is how you retrieve those changes from a remote (like github). `git pull` takes it a step further and attempts to merge your changes in automatically. Think of it as two separate "download" and "sync" operations, depending on your workflow, you may want to download, but defer the sync. Eventually, you will need to sync before sending your changes upstream (`git push`), but you have some flexibility in deciding when.

For example, if you are travelling, you may want to fetch your remote(s) so that you have access to a relatively recent copy of the remote, but you aren't ready to apply those changes to your current source tree. Or, you may want fetch the remote(s) and compare the differences before applying the changes locally in case there's risk of incorporating a breaking change that could disrupt things.