1 \input texinfo @c -*- texinfo -*-
2 @documentencoding UTF-8
4 @settitle FFmpeg Mailing List FAQ
6 @center @titlefont{FFmpeg Mailing List FAQ}
13 @chapter General Questions
15 @section What is a mailing list?
17 A mailing list is not much different than emailing someone, but the
18 main difference is that your message is received by everyone who
19 subscribes to the list. It is somewhat like a forum but in email form.
21 See the @url{https://lists.ffmpeg.org/pipermail/ffmpeg-user/, ffmpeg-user archives}
24 @section What type of questions can I ask?
28 @url{https://lists.ffmpeg.org/mailman/listinfo/ffmpeg-user/, ffmpeg-user}:
29 For questions involving unscripted usage or compilation of the FFmpeg
30 command-line tools (@command{ffmpeg}, @command{ffprobe}, @command{ffplay}).
33 @url{https://lists.ffmpeg.org/mailman/listinfo/libav-user/, libav-user}:
34 For questions involving the FFmpeg libav* libraries (libavcodec,
35 libavformat, libavfilter, etc).
38 @url{https://lists.ffmpeg.org/mailman/listinfo/ffmpeg-devel/, ffmpeg-devel}:
39 For discussions involving the development of FFmpeg and for submitting
40 patches. User questions should be asked at ffmpeg-user or libav-user.
43 To report a bug see @url{https://ffmpeg.org/bugreports.html}.
45 We cannot provide help for scripts and/or third-party tools.
47 @anchor{How do I ask a question or send a message to a mailing list?}
48 @section How do I ask a question or send a message to a mailing list?
50 First you must @ref{How do I subscribe?, subscribe}. Then all you have to do is
55 Email @email{ffmpeg-user@@ffmpeg.org} to send a message to the
56 ffmpeg-user mailing list.
59 Email @email{libav-user@@ffmpeg.org} to send a message to the
60 libav-user mailing list.
63 Email @email{ffmpeg-devel@@ffmpeg.org} to send a message to the
64 ffmpeg-devel mailing list.
67 @chapter Subscribing / Unsubscribing
69 @anchor{How do I subscribe?}
70 @section How do I subscribe?
72 Email @email{ffmpeg-user-request@@ffmpeg.org} with the subject
75 Or visit the @url{https://lists.ffmpeg.org/mailman/listinfo/ffmpeg-user/, ffmpeg-user mailing list info page}
76 and refer to the @emph{Subscribing to ffmpeg-user} section.
78 The process is the same for the other mailing lists.
80 @section How do I unsubscribe?
82 Email @email{ffmpeg-user-request@@ffmpeg.org} with subject @emph{unsubscribe}.
84 Or visit the @url{https://lists.ffmpeg.org/mailman/listinfo/ffmpeg-user/, ffmpeg-user mailing list info page},
85 scroll to bottom of page, enter your email address in the box, and click
86 the @emph{Unsubscribe or edit options} button.
88 The process is the same for the other mailing lists.
90 Please avoid asking a mailing list admin to unsubscribe you unless you
91 are absolutely unable to do so by yourself. See @ref{Who do I contact if I have a problem with the mailing list?}
93 Note that it is possible to temporarily halt message delivery (vacation mode).
94 See @ref{How do I disable mail delivery without unsubscribing?}
96 @chapter Moderation Queue
97 @anchor{Why is my message awaiting moderator approval?}
98 @section Why is my message awaiting moderator approval?
100 Some messages are automatically held in the @emph{moderation queue} and
101 must be manually approved by a mailing list admin:
108 Messages that exceed the @ref{What is the message size limit?, message size limit}.
111 Messages from users whose accounts have been set with the @emph{moderation flag}
112 (very rarely occurs, but may if a user repeatedly ignores the rules
113 or is abusive towards others).
116 @section How long does it take for my message in the moderation queue to be approved?
118 The queue is not checked on a regular basis. You can ask on the
119 @t{#ffmpeg-devel} IRC channel on Freenode for someone to approve your message.
121 @anchor{How do I delete my message in the moderation queue?}
122 @section How do I delete my message in the moderation queue?
124 You should have received an email with the subject @emph{Your message to <mailing list name> awaits moderator approval}.
125 A link is in the message that will allow you to delete your message
126 unless a mailing list admin already approved or rejected it.
130 @anchor{Where are the archives?}
131 @section Where are the archives?
133 See the @emph{Archives} section on the @url{https://ffmpeg.org/contact.html, FFmpeg Contact}
134 page for links to all FFmpeg mailing list archives.
136 Note that the archives are split by month. Discussions that span
137 several months will be split into separate months in the archives.
139 @section How do I reply to a message in the archives?
141 Click the email link at the top of the message just under the subject
142 title. The link will provide the proper headers to keep the message
145 Note that you must be subscribed to send a message to the ffmpeg-user or
146 libav-user mailing lists.
148 @section How do I search the archives?
150 Perform a site search using your favorite search engine. Example:
152 @t{site:lists.ffmpeg.org/pipermail/ffmpeg-user/ "search term"}
156 @section Is there an alternative to the mailing list?
158 You can ask for help in the official @t{#ffmpeg} IRC channel on Freenode.
160 Some users prefer the third-party @url{http://www.ffmpeg-archive.org/, Nabble}
161 interface which presents the mailing lists in a typical forum layout.
163 There are also numerous third-party help sites such as
164 @url{https://superuser.com/tags/ffmpeg, Super User} and
165 @url{https://www.reddit.com/r/ffmpeg/, r/ffmpeg on reddit}.
167 @anchor{What is top-posting?}
168 @section What is top-posting?
170 See @url{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posting_style#Top-posting}.
172 Instead, use trimmed interleaved/inline replies (@url{https://lists.ffmpeg.org/pipermail/ffmpeg-user/2017-April/035849.html, example}).
174 @anchor{What is the message size limit?}
175 @section What is the message size limit?
177 The message size limit is 1000 kilobytes. Please provide links to larger files
178 instead of attaching them.
180 @section Where can I upload sample files?
182 Anywhere that is not too annoying for us to use.
184 Google Drive and Dropbox are acceptable if you need a file host, and
185 @url{https://0x0.st/, 0x0.st} is good for files under 256 MiB.
187 Small, short samples are preferred if possible.
189 @section Will I receive spam if I send and/or subscribe to a mailing list?
195 The list of subscribed users is not public.
198 Email addresses in the archives are obfuscated.
201 Several unique test email accounts were utilized and none have yet
205 However, you may see a spam in the mailing lists on rare occasions:
209 Spam in the moderation queue may be accidentally approved due to human
213 There have been a few messages from subscribed users who had their own
214 email addresses hacked and spam messages from (or appearing to be from)
215 the hacked account were sent to their contacts (a mailing list being a
216 contact in these cases).
219 If you are subscribed to the bug tracker mailing list (ffmpeg-trac) you
220 may see the occasional spam as a false bug report, but we take measures
221 to try to prevent this.
224 @section How do I filter mailing list messages?
226 Use the @emph{List-Id}. For example, the ffmpeg-user mailing list is
227 @t{ffmpeg-user.ffmpeg.org}. You can view the List-Id in the raw message
230 You can then filter the mailing list messages to their own folder.
232 @anchor{How do I disable mail delivery without unsubscribing?}
233 @section How do I disable mail delivery without unsubscribing?
235 Sometimes you may want to temporarily stop receiving all mailing list
236 messages. This "vacation mode" is simple to do:
240 Go to the @url{https://lists.ffmpeg.org/mailman/listinfo/ffmpeg-user/, ffmpeg-user mailing list info page}
243 Enter your email address in the box at very bottom of the page and click the
244 @emph{Unsubscribe or edit options} box.
247 Enter your password and click the @emph{Log in} button.
250 Look for the @emph{Mail delivery} option. Here you can disable/enable mail
251 delivery. If you check @emph{Set globally} it will apply your choice to all
252 other FFmpeg mailing lists you are subscribed to.
255 Alternatively, from your subscribed address, send a message to @email{ffmpeg-user-request@@ffmpeg.org}
256 with the subject @emph{set delivery off}. To re-enable mail delivery send a
257 message to @email{ffmpeg-user-request@@ffmpeg.org} with the subject
258 @emph{set delivery on}.
260 @anchor{Why is the mailing list munging my address?}
261 @section Why is the mailing list munging my address?
263 This is due to subscribers that use an email service with a DMARC reject policy
264 which adds difficulties to mailing list operators.
266 The mailing list must re-write (munge) the @emph{From:} header for such users;
267 otherwise their email service will reject and bounce the message resulting in
268 automatic unsubscribing from the mailing list.
270 When sending a message these users will see @emph{via <mailing list name>}
271 added to their name and the @emph{From:} address munged to the address of
272 the particular mailing list.
274 If you want to avoid this then please use a different email service.
276 Note that ffmpeg-devel does not apply any munging as it causes issues with
277 patch authorship. As a result users with an email service with a DMARC reject
278 policy may be automatically unsubscribed due to rejected and bounced messages.
280 @chapter Rules and Etiquette
282 @section What are the rules and the proper etiquette?
284 There may seem to be many things to remember, but we want to help and
285 following these guidelines will allow you to get answers more quickly
286 and help avoid getting ignored.
290 Always show your actual, unscripted @command{ffmpeg} command and the
291 complete, uncut console output from your command.
294 Use the most simple and minimal command that still shows the issue you
298 Provide all necessary information so others can attempt to duplicate
299 your issue. This includes the actual command, complete uncut console
300 output, and any inputs that are required to duplicate the issue.
303 Use the latest @command{ffmpeg} build you can get. See the @url{https://ffmpeg.org/download.html, FFmpeg Download}
304 page for links to recent builds for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Or
305 compile from the current git master branch.
308 Avoid @url{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posting_style#Top-posting, top-posting}.
309 Also see @ref{What is top-posting?}
312 Avoid hijacking threads. Thread hijacking is replying to a message and
313 changing the subject line to something unrelated to the original thread.
314 Most email clients will still show the renamed message under the
315 original thread. This can be confusing and these types of messages are
319 Do not send screenshots. Copy and paste console text instead of making
320 screenshots of the text.
323 Avoid sending email disclaimers and legalese if possible as this is a
327 Avoid using the @code{-loglevel debug}, @code{-loglevel quiet}, and
328 @command{-hide_banner} options unless requested to do so.
331 If you attach files avoid compressing small files. Uncompressed is
335 Please do not send HTML-only messages. The mailing list will ignore the
336 HTML component of your message. Most mail clients will automatically
337 include a text component: this is what the mailing list will use.
340 Configuring your mail client to break lines after 70 or so characters is
344 Avoid sending the same message to multiple mailing lists.
347 Please follow our @url{https://ffmpeg.org/developer.html#Code-of-conduct, Code of Conduct}.
352 @section Why am I not receiving any messages?
354 Some email providers have blacklists or spam filters that block or mark
355 the mailing list messages as false positives. Unfortunately, the user is
356 often not aware of this and is often out of their control.
358 When possible we attempt to notify the provider to be removed from the
359 blacklists or filters.
361 @section Why are my sent messages not showing up?
363 Excluding @ref{Why is my message awaiting moderator approval?, messages that are held in the moderation queue}
364 there are a few other reasons why your messages may fail to appear:
368 HTML-only messages are ignored by the mailing lists. Most mail clients
369 automatically include a text component alongside HTML email: this is what
370 the mailing list will use. If it does not then consider your client to be
371 broken, because sending a text component along with the HTML component to
372 form a multi-part message is recommended by email standards.
375 Check your spam folder.
378 @anchor{Why do I keep getting unsubscribed from ffmpeg-devel?}
379 @section Why do I keep getting unsubscribed from ffmpeg-devel?
381 Users with an email service that has a DMARC reject or quarantine policy may be
382 automatically unsubscribed from the ffmpeg-devel mailing list due to the mailing
383 list messages being continuously rejected and bounced back.
385 Consider using a different email service.
387 @anchor{Who do I contact if I have a problem with the mailing list?}
388 @section Who do I contact if I have a problem with the mailing list?
390 Send a message to @email{ffmpeg-user-owner@@ffmpeg.org}.