[Libav-user] Encoding with variable frame rate

[Paul B Mahol]

On 5/22/13, Brad O'Hearne <brado at bighillsoftware.com> wrote:
> On May 22, 2013, at 9:02 AM, Robert Krueger <krueger at lesspain.de> wrote:
>
>> After all, most of the work is
>> done by people in their spare time and I haven't found many developers
>> who enjoy writing documentation (no matter how important docs are, I
>> think we all agree on that).
>
> The problem, Robert, is bigger than just finding someone to document FFmpeg,
> getting volunteers, or motivating people. The bigger problem is that
> producing good documentation and discussion of a particular technical domain
> requires an inquisitive and exhaustive approach, willing to drill down to
> details, and ask questions which put design decisions and potentially either
> weaknesses or needs in the spotlight. The tone of this mailing list just
> doesn't have a thick-enough skin for that. The discourse on this list
> consistently demonstrates an inability to treat machinery as machinery, nuts
> and bolts, and instead quickly degenerates into personal attacks when a good
> answer isn't quickly obvious, or when someone refuses to consider that there
> may be a problem in some part of FFmpeg which someone has adopted as their
> turf.
>
> There is absolutely zero question in my mind, from the several projects I've
> had to solve with FFmpeg, discussions with others, numerous blog posts which
> lament the undocumented and unknown nature of various parts of FFmpeg, that
> save bug-fixing, adding a single additional line of code to FFmpeg pales in
> importance to thoroughly documenting the API with adequate discussion,
> documenting use, and producing some examples that address real-world
> use-cases, not "let's just generate some audio samples or a sample images
> for video", which avoids the real problems of building a robust app.
>
> I love writing, have written technical documentation and technical articles,
> and had several book deals offered. Given my frustrations and time loss due
> to a lack of documentation, if it were mine to script, I'd document the
> whole thing myself, and produce either a book or user guide on this. But
> given both my personal experiences thus far and observing others as well on
> this mailing list, I won't go anywhere near it. Too much shoot-the-messenger
> on this mailing list. Too much condescension if you ask a question without
> demonstrating deep expertise of a particular concept. Too much passion for
> sniping people because they don't just by default know something. That,
> Robert, is the primary problem --  with people making personal attacks, and
> an inability to drill into minutia with patience, people who would otherwise
> offer their services are driven away.
>
> I'm not just referring to my own experiences here, I've been on this mailing
> list a year and a half, and I've watched it with others, too. It's a shame.
> Entirely unnecessary.

How much time it takes to write above text? Now compare to time I wasted reading
this FUD instead of doing something else - like helping users than
really need help.