[FFmpeg-devel] [ANNOUNCE] New FFmpeg maintainership

[Stefano Sabatini]

On date Tuesday 2011-01-18 19:53:41 +0100, Attila Kinali encoded:
> We, the undersigned, announce that as of today FFmpeg maintainership
> has been assumed by a new team.  Our aim is to facilitate the
> development of exciting new features in a timely manner while keeping
> high quality standards and above all to provide a fair, productive
> environment for developers and contributors.

I can understand some of the reasons for this change, and I can even
agree with them. But it should have been better to announce and
discuss publically on this list.

This hasn't happened, and this sounds higly unrespectful for all the
FFmpeg developers not involved in the change.

If I can understand it correctly this wouldn't have changed the final
outcome, if there is such consensus amongst so many core developers
(and root administrators) then there was nothing that the
current/former leader and other developers could have done for
changing it.

So what's going on now? The former leader, which was perceived as a
dictator but which was at least formally respecting the agreed policy,
has been replaced by a new dictatorship. That's not a good way to
start for a community project.

If a change in leadership was what most FFmpeg developers wanted, then
this change was inevitable (and maybe I would have voted myself for
this). What I'm arguing is the way this has been done.

Questions come to mind.

Will this be a good move in the long term for the FFmpeg project in
term of features, contributors, public relationship? Maybe, or maybe
this will only lead towards fragmentation.

Was this a fair move towards the former leader and the other
developers? I don't think so. Having acted this way it will make much
harder to make them come aboard (well maybe that was even planned,
which sounds even nastier).
-- 
FFmpeg = Fundamental and Friendly Mournful Patchable Enchanting Generator