[FFmpeg-devel] The "bad" Patch

[softworkz .]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: ffmpeg-devel <ffmpeg-devel-bounces at ffmpeg.org> On Behalf Of Michael
> Niedermayer
> Sent: Montag, 2. Juni 2025 21:35
> To: FFmpeg development discussions and patches <ffmpeg-devel at ffmpeg.org>
> Subject: Re: [FFmpeg-devel] The "bad" Patch
> 

Hi,

> The CC needs someone who is good at mediating (or what you call it) thats
> marth64

+1


> And the CC needs someone who can recognize defamation and document it
> accurately. Ive not seen anyone except softworkz document things as he did.

Admittedly, the motivation was high, since I've been in focus. Naturally,
I had been upset about specific persons at the beginning, but the more I 
had reconstructed the sequence of events, I realized that the way how 
things had developed and escalated further, was more complex and driven
by many actors, most of which never had much bad intentions and acted
without being aware about the consequences of their own actions.
Asked about it, I'm sure most of them would think and say that they would
have had nothing to do with it at all and it wasn't their own fault.
But in a community, when several people do just little wrong 
individually, this can sum up very quickly and easily.

The motivations behind documenting the events are multifold:

- When we better understand the origins and mechanisms of how that 
  "toxicity" is formed and unfolds, then we might better be able to
  take measures to reduce it in the future

- When each individual is able to see and understand their own actions
  within the full context, it allows them to reflect about how their
  own actions (even if just minimal) have contributed to the eventual
  outcome

- In the same way, people who weren't involved at all can learn from
  understanding those situations

The latter applies to myself as well, I'm sometimes writing faster than
thinking, which can lead to unintended consequences and there could 
very well be another case where I might have been documented as an 
actor. I don't consider myself standing out in this regard.

One fundamental difference though - and something that is badly 
missing in this community is the ability to admit one's own mistakes
and apologize as is appropriate. I always do that and the ML archive
gives testimony that this is true. It's an indication of integrity,
honesty and strength of personality and social competence.
Failing to do so is one of the seeds of toxicity towards each other.

To me, it seems that people are afraid that this could be taken as
weakness or incompetence - which is a fundamental misconception.
Even in technical discussions, I see that people rather stop 
responding than admitting, when they realize they were wrong about
something. But the opposite is true: not admitting is weak
behavior.


> > Because it seems you seriously care about stoping defamations and the
> > general sozial backstabbing that has appeared in the recent decade
> 
> “Seems” is the important word here.

I have been writing about these things here often before, in the 
hope that it makes people think about and reflect their own behavior.

If it would be true that it just "seems" that I would care, then I'd 
be curious about for which other reasons I'd be doing it then?


Best regards,
softworkz