GitHub has introduced a "Fast Forward" button to address the common issue of users forking repositories without making subsequent contributions and falling behind the main branch's updates. This feature appears in the repository details if a user has forked a project, not pushed to it, and the original repository has progressed. By clicking on "Fast Forward," users can automatically update all their branches to align with the current state of the source repository, simplifying the process of staying up-to-date and encouraging engagement with projects like Rails that users may have initially forked but not interacted with further. This innovation, announced by Scott Chacon, aims to streamline workflow for developers who wish to revisit previously forked projects.