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| @settitle FFmpeg Mailing List FAQ |
| @titlepage |
| @center @titlefont{FFmpeg Mailing List FAQ} |
| @end titlepage |
| |
| @top |
| |
| @contents |
| |
| @chapter General Questions |
| |
| @section What is a mailing list? |
| |
| A mailing list is not much different than emailing someone, but the |
| main difference is that your message is received by everyone who |
| subscribes to the list. It is somewhat like a forum but in email form. |
| |
| See the @url{https://lists.ffmpeg.org/pipermail/ffmpeg-user/, ffmpeg-user archives} |
| for examples. |
| |
| @section What type of questions can I ask? |
| |
| @itemize |
| @item |
| @url{https://lists.ffmpeg.org/mailman/listinfo/ffmpeg-user/, ffmpeg-user}: |
| For questions involving unscripted usage or compilation of the FFmpeg |
| command-line tools (@command{ffmpeg}, @command{ffprobe}, @command{ffplay}, |
| @command{ffserver}). |
| |
| @item |
| @url{https://lists.ffmpeg.org/mailman/listinfo/libav-user/, libav-user}: |
| For questions involving the FFmpeg libav* libraries (libavcodec, |
| libavformat, libavfilter, etc). |
| |
| @item |
| @url{https://lists.ffmpeg.org/mailman/listinfo/ffmpeg-devel/, ffmpeg-devel}: |
| For discussions involving the development of FFmpeg and for submitting |
| patches. User questions should be asked at ffmpeg-user or libav-user. |
| @end itemize |
| |
| To report a bug see @url{https://ffmpeg.org/bugreports.html}. |
| |
| We cannot provide help for scripts and/or third-party tools. |
| |
| @anchor{How do I ask a question or send a message to a mailing list?} |
| @section How do I ask a question or send a message to a mailing list? |
| |
| All you have to do is send an email: |
| |
| @itemize |
| @item |
| Email @email{ffmpeg-user@@ffmpeg.org} to send a message to the |
| ffmpeg-user mailing list. |
| |
| @item |
| Email @email{libav-user@@ffmpeg.org} to send a message to the |
| libav-user mailing list. |
| @end itemize |
| |
| If you are not subscribed to the mailing list then your question must be |
| manually approved. Approval may take several days, but the wait is |
| usually less. If you want the message to be sent with no delay then you |
| must subscribe first. See @ref{How do I subscribe?} |
| |
| Please do not send a message, subscribe, and re-send the message: this |
| results in duplicates, causes more work for the admins, and may lower |
| your chance at getting an answer. However, you may do so if you first |
| @ref{How do I delete my message in the moderation queue?, delete your original message from the moderation queue}. |
| |
| @chapter Subscribing / Unsubscribing |
| |
| @section What does subscribing do? |
| |
| Subscribing allows two things: |
| |
| @itemize |
| @item |
| Your messages will show up in the mailing list without waiting in the |
| moderation queue and needing to be manually approved by a mailing list |
| admin. |
| |
| @item |
| You will receive all messages to the mailing list including replies to |
| your messages. Non-subscribed users do not receive any messages. |
| @end itemize |
| |
| @section Do I need to subscribe? |
| |
| No. You can still send a message to the mailing list without |
| subscribing. See @ref{How do I ask a question or send a message to a mailing list?} |
| |
| However, your message will need to be manually approved by a mailing |
| list admin, and you will not receive any mailing list messages or |
| replies. |
| |
| You can ask to be CCd in your message, but replying users will |
| sometimes forget to do so. |
| |
| You may also view and reply to messages via the @ref{Where are the archives?, archives}. |
| |
| @anchor{How do I subscribe?} |
| @section How do I subscribe? |
| |
| Email @email{ffmpeg-user-request@@ffmpeg.org} with the subject |
| @emph{subscribe}. |
| |
| Or visit the @url{https://lists.ffmpeg.org/mailman/listinfo/ffmpeg-user/, ffmpeg-user mailing list info page} |
| and refer to the @emph{Subscribing to ffmpeg-user} section. |
| |
| The process is the same for the other mailing lists. |
| |
| @section How do I unsubscribe? |
| |
| Email @email{ffmpeg-user-request@@ffmpeg.org} with subject @emph{unsubscribe}. |
| |
| Or visit the @url{https://lists.ffmpeg.org/mailman/listinfo/ffmpeg-user/, ffmpeg-user mailing list info page}, |
| scroll to bottom of page, enter your email address in the box, and click |
| the @emph{Unsubscribe or edit options} button. |
| |
| The process is the same for the other mailing lists. |
| |
| Please avoid asking a mailing list admin to unsubscribe you unless you |
| are absolutely unable to do so by yourself. See @ref{Who do I contact if I have a problem with the mailing list?} |
| |
| @chapter Moderation Queue |
| @anchor{Why is my message awaiting moderator approval?} |
| @section Why is my message awaiting moderator approval? |
| |
| Some messages are automatically held in the @emph{moderation queue} and |
| must be manually approved by a mailing list admin: |
| |
| These are: |
| |
| @itemize |
| @item |
| Messages from users who are @strong{not} subscribed. |
| |
| @item |
| Messages that exceed the @ref{What is the message size limit?, message size limit}. |
| |
| @item |
| Messages from users whose accounts have been set with the @emph{moderation flag} |
| (very rarely occurs, but may if a user repeatedly ignores the rules |
| or is abusive towards others). |
| @end itemize |
| |
| @section How long does it take for my message in the moderation queue to be approved? |
| |
| The queue is usually checked once or twice a day, but on occasion |
| several days may pass before someone checks the queue. |
| |
| @anchor{How do I delete my message in the moderation queue?} |
| @section How do I delete my message in the moderation queue? |
| |
| You should have received an email with the subject @emph{Your message to ffmpeg-user awaits moderator approval}. |
| A link is in the message that will allow you to delete your message |
| unless a mailing list admin already approved or rejected it. |
| |
| @chapter Archives |
| |
| @anchor{Where are the archives?} |
| @section Where are the archives? |
| |
| See the @emph{Archives} section on the @url{https://ffmpeg.org/contact.html, FFmpeg Contact} |
| page for links to all FFmpeg mailing list archives. |
| |
| Note that the archives are split by month. Discussions that span |
| several months will be split into separate months in the archives. |
| |
| @section How do I reply to a message in the archives? |
| |
| Click the email link at the top of the message just under the subject |
| title. The link will provide the proper headers to keep the message |
| within the thread. |
| |
| @section How do I search the archives? |
| |
| Perform a site search using your favorite search engine. Example: |
| |
| @t{site:lists.ffmpeg.org/pipermail/ffmpeg-user/ "search term"} |
| |
| @chapter Other |
| |
| @section Is there an alternative to the mailing list? |
| |
| You can ask for help in the official @t{#ffmpeg} IRC channel on Freenode. |
| |
| Some users prefer the third-party Nabble interface which presents the |
| mailing lists in a typical forum layout. |
| |
| There are also numerous third-party help sites such as Super User and |
| r/ffmpeg on reddit. |
| |
| @anchor{What is top-posting?} |
| @section What is top-posting? |
| |
| See @url{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posting_style#Top-posting}. |
| |
| Instead, use trimmed interleaved/inline replies (@url{https://lists.ffmpeg.org/pipermail/ffmpeg-user/2017-April/035849.html, example}). |
| |
| @anchor{What is the message size limit?} |
| @section What is the message size limit? |
| |
| The message size limit is 500 kilobytes for the user lists and 1000 |
| kilobytes for ffmpeg-devel. Please provide links to larger files instead |
| of attaching them. |
| |
| @section Where can I upload sample files? |
| |
| Anywhere that is not too annoying for us to use. |
| |
| Google Drive and Dropbox are acceptable if you need a file host, and |
| 0x0.st is good for files under 256 MiB. |
| |
| Small, short samples are preferred if possible. |
| |
| @section Will I receive spam if I send and/or subscribe to a mailing list? |
| |
| Highly unlikely. |
| |
| @itemize |
| @item |
| The list of subscribed users is not public. |
| |
| @item |
| Email addresses in the archives are obfuscated. |
| |
| @item |
| Several unique test email accounts were utilized and none have yet |
| received any spam. |
| @end itemize |
| |
| However, you may see a spam in the mailing lists on rare occasions: |
| |
| @itemize |
| @item |
| Spam in the moderation queue may be accidentally approved due to human |
| error. |
| |
| @item |
| There have been a few messages from subscribed users who had their own |
| email addresses hacked and spam messages from (or appearing to be from) |
| the hacked account were sent to their contacts (a mailing list being a |
| contact in these cases). |
| |
| @item |
| If you are subscribed to the bug tracker mailing list (ffmpeg-trac) you |
| may see the occasional spam as a false bug report, but we take measures |
| to try to prevent this. |
| @end itemize |
| |
| @section How do I filter mailing list messages? |
| |
| Use the @emph{List-Id}. For example, the ffmpeg-user mailing list is |
| @t{ffmpeg-user.ffmpeg.org}. You can view the List-Id in the raw message |
| or headers. |
| |
| You can then filter the mailing list messages to their own folder. |
| |
| @chapter Rules and Etiquette |
| |
| @section What are the rules and the proper etiquette? |
| |
| There may seem to be many things to remember, but we want to help and |
| following these guidelines will allow you to get answers more quickly |
| and help avoid getting ignored. |
| |
| @itemize |
| @item |
| Always show your actual, unscripted @command{ffmpeg} command and the |
| complete, uncut console output from your command. |
| |
| @item |
| Use the most simple and minimal command that still shows the issue you |
| are encountering. |
| |
| @item |
| Provide all necessary information so others can attempt to duplicate |
| your issue. This includes the actual command, complete uncut console |
| output, and any inputs that are required to duplicate the issue. |
| |
| @item |
| Use the latest @command{ffmpeg} build you can get. See the @url{https://ffmpeg.org/download.html, FFmpeg Download} |
| page for links to recent builds for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Or |
| compile from the current git master branch. |
| |
| @item |
| Avoid @url{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posting_style#Top-posting, top-posting}. |
| Also see @ref{What is top-posting?} |
| |
| @item |
| Avoid hijacking threads. Thread hijacking is replying to a message and |
| changing the subject line to something unrelated to the original thread. |
| Most email clients will still show the renamed message under the |
| original thread. This can be confusing and these types of messages are |
| often ignored. |
| |
| @item |
| Do not send screenshots. Copy and paste console text instead of making |
| screenshots of the text. |
| |
| @item |
| Avoid sending email disclaimers and legalese if possible as this is a |
| public list. |
| |
| @item |
| Avoid using the @code{-loglevel debug}, @code{-loglevel quiet}, and |
| @command{-hide_banner} options unless requested to do so. |
| |
| @item |
| If you attach files avoid compressing small files. Uncompressed is |
| preferred. |
| |
| @item |
| Please do not send HTML-only messages. The mailing list will ignore the |
| HTML component of your message. Most mail clients will automatically |
| include a text component: this is what the mailing list will use. |
| |
| @item |
| Configuring your mail client to break lines after 70 or so characters is |
| recommended. |
| |
| @item |
| Avoid sending the same message to multiple mailing lists. |
| |
| @item |
| Please follow our @url{https://ffmpeg.org/developer.html#Code-of-conduct, Code of Conduct}. |
| @end itemize |
| |
| @chapter Help |
| |
| @section Why am I not receiving any messages? |
| |
| Some email providers have blacklists or spam filters that block or mark |
| the mailing list messages as false positives. Unfortunately, the user is |
| often not aware of this and is often out of their control. |
| |
| When possible we attempt to notify the provider to be removed from the |
| blacklists or filters. |
| |
| @section Why are my sent messages not showing up? |
| |
| Excluding @ref{Why is my message awaiting moderator approval?, messages that are held in the moderation queue} |
| there are a few other reasons why your messages may fail to appear: |
| |
| @itemize |
| @item |
| HTML-only messages are ignored by the mailing lists. Most mail clients |
| automatically include a text component alongside HTML email: this is what |
| the mailing list will use. If it does not then consider your client to be |
| broken, because sending a text component along with the HTML component to |
| form a multi-part message is recommended by email standards. |
| |
| @item |
| Check your spam folder. |
| @end itemize |
| |
| @anchor{Who do I contact if I have a problem with the mailing list?} |
| @section Who do I contact if I have a problem with the mailing list? |
| |
| Send a message to @email{ffmpeg-user-owner@@ffmpeg.org}. |
| |
| @bye |