Upcoming BTC Forks - Please can someone explain them in layman terms?

[Caledfwlch]

Hi Guys!

So i've been scrolling through the posts of late and there is chatter here and there about the upcoming multiple forks relating to bitcoin.

No wanting to sound ignorant (also apologise if this has been asked/answered elsewhere) but what exactly are these forks?
How/why are they coming into existence?
Will we be given 'free' CC for holding BTC?
Do we need to be on any particular platforms (coinbase/gdax/bittrex/etc) if the answer to my last question was yes?
Is it wise to hold them or sell them if we get them?
Is there a consensus that BTC forking multiple times is positive, negative or neither for BTC from those of you with more experience of these things?

Thanking you any answers in advance

[NewBet]

BTC forks... I think of them as free money. You get free coins and then you can just dump them on the market can get your free money and turn it into Bitcoin. It is cool how just holding Bitcoin you can make so much free money. hahaha

[CryptoMuppet]

What Exchanges support the forks? Which to move too?

[nullius]

No wanting to sound ignorant (also apologise if this has been asked/answered elsewhere) but what exactly are these forks?
How/why are they coming into existence?
Will we be given 'free' CC for holding BTC?
Do we need to be on any particular platforms (coinbase/gdax/bittrex/etc) if the answer to my last question was yes?
Is it wise to hold them or sell them if we get them?
Is there a consensus that BTC forking multiple times is positive, negative or neither for BTC from those of you with more experience of these things?

Thanking you any answers in advance :)

Forks are bad.  They are foolhardy attempts to attack Bitcoin.  But Bitcoin is stronger than all attackers, thus leading to an observed rule in practice:

You fork, you die.

Genuine Bitcoin has crushed numerous forks and attempted forks:  “Bitcoin XT”, “Bitcoin Unlimited”, “Bitcoin Classic”, and the “New York Agreement”, to name but a few.  These no longer exist.  For upcoming forks, if you wish to claim some fork coins, then dump them in exchange for real Bitcoin, and enjoy your free bitcoins.  Otherwise, simply ignore.  Anything from “Bitcoin Cash” to “Bitcoin Diamond Plus Plutonium With Ponies” is only a scam; and these scams will die sooner or later, just as did their antecedents.

...so, there you have it in layman’s terms.  Yes, there are many pretenders.  However:

There is only one Bitcoin.

[Caledfwlch]

Thanks for the responses guys So where does our BTC need to be to claim these free fork coins? In a cold store wallet or on a trading platform? Are there any particular trading platforms which usually cater for new/upcoming forks? Not gonna turn down free cash or btc so gotta ask

[Xavofat]

So where does our BTC need to be to claim these free fork coins?

If you are holding your coins in a personal wallet (where you own the private keys), you can export the keys to a wallet which supports the forked coins.  Ideally, you would send your BTC away to a safe wallet before exporting your keys, because many of the clients for these forks are insecure or buggy.

If your coins are on an exchange, you will have to check the exchange's announcements or policy about that specific fork.  They may decide to credit your account with the coins if they want to, but sometimes they will not.

Forks are bad.  They are foolhardy attempts to attack Bitcoin. 

This is a very oversimplified and opinionated analysis.  Even if forks do generally cause harm to the public's perception of Bitcoin, this is not necessarily malicious nor is it necessarily negative at all.