Libav - FFmpeg cooperation report
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Editor: Stefano Sabatini (saste)

Dublin, Google headquarter, h14-16.

During VDD 2014 we had a shared session between libav and
FFmpeg developers.

Participants attending from the FFmpeg side:
Ben Stiller
Nicolas George
Reimar Doeffinger
Stefano Sabatini
Thilo Borgmann

Participants attending from the libav side:
Alexandra Khirnova
Anton Khirnov
Attila Kinali
Diego Biurrun
Diego Pettenò
Janne Granau
Katerina Barone-Adesi
Luca Barbato
Martin Storsjo
Vittorio Giovara

Other developers from both projects: Derek Buitenhuis

Several developers from other projects were also attending. The
meeting was moderated by Lydia Pintscher from Videolan.

The object of the meeting was to discuss about the relationships
between FFmpeg and libav.

From the FFmpeg side: since the fork, most interactions on
mailing-list have been smooth, and no major flames happened. FFmpeg
daily merges are perceived as painful from many developers, and they
pose several API and ABI compatibility issues. Since FFmpeg tries to
be backward-compatible, FFmpeg needs to add a compatibility layer
which increases the overall complexity of the codebase. Also because
of this the FFmpeg log history is twisted, and sometimes it is hard to
track changes when merges are involved. This happens especially when a
change is done first on the FFmpeg side, and the corresponding change
is then done on libav and merged back on FFmpeg. Most FFmpeg
developers though seem to agree that as long as Michael Niedermayer is
able to keep up with the merging work, they are going to accept this
situation.

On the libav side they ask that FFmpeg developers should restrain from
insults and accusations towards libav. These accusations are casting
bad light on the reputation of libav, especially as they can leak into
real life and job relationships of the people involved with the
project. Both FFmpeg and libav developers seem to agree that it would
be useful for both projects to restrain from such accusations. On the
other side most FFmpeg developers state that the level of accusations
is supposedly very low or absent on the ffmpeg-devel mailing lists at
the present time, and those accusations don't represent the official
FFmpeg point of view but are only expression of personal positions.

In order to improve cooperation it is proposed to have a common
mailing-list, which could be used to discuss API/ABI compatibility
issues. This would be especially useful in case there is a developer
on the other side with special knowledge on an area affected by a
design proposal. Such mailing-list would foster cooperation and would
allow to have a shared communication channel between the two
projects. On the other hand the final choice about an interface design
should not be enforced by a discussion happening on such mailing
list. Some developers express a concern that the creation of such
mailing-list couldn't work because of technical and social issues, and
there is no final agreement about its creation.

Some FFmpeg developers propose to remove the ban on Michael on the
libav development mailing-lists and on the IRC channel for a limited
period (say, one month), and to organize a common IRC meeting between
FFmpeg and libav developers moderated by a third party, which Michael
Niedermayer could attend.

Finally, it is proposed to have a shared code of conduct or guidelines
about the reciprocal relationships between the two projects, in order
to improve cooperation and avoid reciprocal accusations. Such document
should be edited by developers belonging to both projects.