[FFmpeg-user] "instead of complaining, submit a patch" [was: Re: minterpolate problem]

[Jim DeLaHunt]

On 2021-01-31 05:05, Rodney Baker wrote:
> On Friday, 29 January 2021 21:12:06 ACDT Phil Rhodes via ffmpeg-user wrote:
>>      On Friday, 29 January 2021, 09:43:09 GMT, Mark Filipak (ffmpeg)
>>
>> <markfilipak at bog.us> wrote:
>>> Try 'ffmpeg -h type=filter.
>>> It fails. Why? Because "filter" is a "type", not a "name" -- never mind
>>> that the details says "... named decoder/encoder ..."
>> Yes, this is the sort of thing that causes the problem. Easy to fix, though,
>> you'd have thought. P
>>
> Well, if you have a solution, instead of complaining, submit a patch to the
> ffmpeg-devel mailing list. If it gets accepted, congratulations - you've just
> helped to improve the product!

In many projects, "instead of complaining, submit a patch" is good 
advice. It turns users into contributors. But FFmpeg is not just any 
project.

How has submitting documentation patches gone for you?

In my experience, substantive documentation patches trigger immune 
responses, and either don't get accepted but cause pain ([1a], [1b], 
[1c]), or get accepted only after much pain ([2a], [2b]). Both those 
attempts also earned me a private email from a senior developer wishing 
I would go away and stop participating in FFmpeg. The patches that get 
accepted straightforwardly were minor FAQ changes([3a], [3b]) or repo 
fixes [4].

[1a] https://lists.ffmpeg.org/pipermail/ffmpeg-devel/2020-April/261467.html
[1b] https://lists.ffmpeg.org/pipermail/ffmpeg-devel/2020-May/261792.html
[1c] https://lists.ffmpeg.org/pipermail/ffmpeg-devel/2020-May/261811.html
[2a] https://ffmpeg.org/pipermail/ffmpeg-devel/2017-November/220528.html
[2b] 
https://lists.ffmpeg.org/pipermail/ffmpeg-devel/2017-December/221596.html
[3a] 
https://lists.ffmpeg.org/pipermail/ffmpeg-devel/2017-November/219782.html,
[3b] 
https://lists.ffmpeg.org/pipermail/ffmpeg-devel/2017-November/219925.html
[4] 
https://lists.ffmpeg.org/pipermail/ffmpeg-devel/2017-November/220095.html

My experience has persuaded me that "instead of complaining, submit a 
patch" is not an easy path to follow in this project.

     —Jim DeLaHunt