[MPlayer-dev-eng] MPlayer Developer Meeting (was: Re: Commit rules and coexistence rules)

[Attila Kinali]

Moin,

On Mon, 16 Jun 2008 03:50:47 +0200
Michael Niedermayer <michaelni at gmx.at> wrote:

> Ive thought a while if i should reply or if i should not ...
> Part in me just wants to leave, leave mplayer to its doom under the current
> administration. Not because i dont care about mplayer or the other
> developers but because i do not really see how to solve the situation.
> Iam not root, my voice does not count, be it in relation to uoti or
> in relation to who leads mplayer.

I am root, but that does not give me any more voice. It's an
administrative position, not a leader position. 
And the same goes for Diego. He has only a voice in this
matter because he is a developer, not because he is root.

> And iam not really interrested to work
> for a project that treats its members voices so lowly.
> The other side in me does not want to give up ...

I know this feeling very well...

> > Hence, i call for a general developer meeting until the end of
> > the year to discuss all the issues that piled up over the last
> > years and to peacefully resolve them face to face. Eligible is
> > anyone who has write access to the svn repository of MPlayer at
> > the time of the meeting. 
> 
> I hope you wont take it personal but what you say above sounds a little
> like: "Ive not read your discussions, my free time is too valuable, you
> should all meet in person and repeat the discussions"

No, i read most of the discussion (and skimmed over the rest)
and came to the conclusion that it will not be possible
to resolve the issues which just mailinglist discussions.

What i wanted to say here is, that this negative feeling and
bitching around takes, for me, all the fun out of working
on MPlayer. I don't mind the occasional flamewar
but a constant conflict is a big motivation killer and makes
me to look for something else to do.
 
> Let me quote the wanderer, i belive he summarized the problem with
> uoti quite well:

I've read this mail and agree that this is the main problem.
But it's also not the only problem.
 
> So, considering the wanderers summary of "the problem" i am curious how it
> could be solved by more discussions amongth the developers. Its not us
> who have said that we dont care about the rules and by extension the team
> who made the rules.

You'd be surprised how many problems can be solved when people
start talking to each other face to face. Yes, i know, that
"the problem" cannot be solved by discussion alone, but it
can be worked around when people agree on something. Currently
there is no real agreement, people are just throwing shit at
each other whithout really listening to eachothers concerns.
 
> Besides uoti, the second thing is the mplayer leader.
> This is at least for me completely unrelated to uoti, and i would really
> like to see mplayer be put under democratic control and a different leader
> with regular leader elections. Anyway
> until a proper vote about the leader happens and its results are in force
> i will refrain from any and all maintainership of code in mplayer.

Yes, but also for this, we have to agree on a proper procedure.
Currently i don't see how people could agree on anything on
this mailinglist.

> I simply do not feel comfortable to work under the current anti democratic
> system and as its unpaid&FOSS theres really no reason for me to put up with a
> environment in which i feel ignored, unwelcome and uncomfortable. That is not
> meant against diego, who is my friend but against his political views with
> which i very strongly disagree with.

I don't agree with the political views you two have, neither
with the way you try to resolve things. But than again, you both are
valuable members of the MPlayer team, and i'd rather not lose any
of you.

				Attila Kinali

PS: If you don't like how i handle things as root, my offer from
last year to give up this position will always hold.

-- 
It is the unknown we fear when we look
upon death and darkness, nothing more.
	-- Albus P. W. B. Dumbledore