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 Note that the ffmpeg-devel mailing list does not require you to subscribe
68 to send a message or patch, but ffmpeg-user and libav-user do require
71 @chapter Subscribing / Unsubscribing
73 @anchor{How do I subscribe?}
74 @section How do I subscribe?
76 Email @email{ffmpeg-user-request@@ffmpeg.org} with the subject
79 Or visit the @url{https://lists.ffmpeg.org/mailman/listinfo/ffmpeg-user/, ffmpeg-user mailing list info page}
80 and refer to the @emph{Subscribing to ffmpeg-user} section.
82 The process is the same for the other mailing lists.
84 @section How do I unsubscribe?
86 Email @email{ffmpeg-user-request@@ffmpeg.org} with subject @emph{unsubscribe}.
88 Or visit the @url{https://lists.ffmpeg.org/mailman/listinfo/ffmpeg-user/, ffmpeg-user mailing list info page},
89 scroll to bottom of page, enter your email address in the box, and click
90 the @emph{Unsubscribe or edit options} button.
92 The process is the same for the other mailing lists.
94 Please avoid asking a mailing list admin to unsubscribe you unless you
95 are absolutely unable to do so by yourself. See @ref{Who do I contact if I have a problem with the mailing list?}
97 @chapter Moderation Queue
98 @anchor{Why is my message awaiting moderator approval?}
99 @section Why is my message awaiting moderator approval?
101 Some messages are automatically held in the @emph{moderation queue} and
102 must be manually approved by a mailing list admin:
109 Messages that exceed the @ref{What is the message size limit?, message size limit}.
112 Messages from users whose accounts have been set with the @emph{moderation flag}
113 (very rarely occurs, but may if a user repeatedly ignores the rules
114 or is abusive towards others).
117 @section How long does it take for my message in the moderation queue to be approved?
119 The queue is usually checked daily to several times a week.
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 Nabble interface which presents the
161 mailing lists in a typical forum layout.
163 There are also numerous third-party help sites such as Super User and
166 @anchor{What is top-posting?}
167 @section What is top-posting?
169 See @url{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posting_style#Top-posting}.
171 Instead, use trimmed interleaved/inline replies (@url{https://lists.ffmpeg.org/pipermail/ffmpeg-user/2017-April/035849.html, example}).
173 @anchor{What is the message size limit?}
174 @section What is the message size limit?
176 The message size limit is 1000 kilobytes. Please provide links to larger files
177 instead of attaching them.
179 @section Where can I upload sample files?
181 Anywhere that is not too annoying for us to use.
183 Google Drive and Dropbox are acceptable if you need a file host, and
184 0x0.st is good for files under 256 MiB.
186 Small, short samples are preferred if possible.
188 @section Will I receive spam if I send and/or subscribe to a mailing list?
194 The list of subscribed users is not public.
197 Email addresses in the archives are obfuscated.
200 Several unique test email accounts were utilized and none have yet
204 However, you may see a spam in the mailing lists on rare occasions:
208 Spam in the moderation queue may be accidentally approved due to human
212 There have been a few messages from subscribed users who had their own
213 email addresses hacked and spam messages from (or appearing to be from)
214 the hacked account were sent to their contacts (a mailing list being a
215 contact in these cases).
218 If you are subscribed to the bug tracker mailing list (ffmpeg-trac) you
219 may see the occasional spam as a false bug report, but we take measures
220 to try to prevent this.
223 @section How do I filter mailing list messages?
225 Use the @emph{List-Id}. For example, the ffmpeg-user mailing list is
226 @t{ffmpeg-user.ffmpeg.org}. You can view the List-Id in the raw message
229 You can then filter the mailing list messages to their own folder.
231 @section How do I disable mail delivery without unsubscribing?
233 Sometimes you may want to temporarily stop receiving all mailing list
234 messages. This "vacation mode" is simple to do:
238 Go to the @url{https://lists.ffmpeg.org/mailman/listinfo/ffmpeg-user/, ffmpeg-user mailing list info page}
241 Enter your email address in the box at very bottom of the page and click the
242 @emph{Unsubscribe or edit options} box.
245 Enter your password and click the @emph{Log in} button.
248 Look for the @emph{Mail delivery} option. Here you can disable/enable mail
249 delivery. If you check @emph{Set globally} it will apply your choice to all
250 other FFmpeg mailing lists you are subscribed to.
253 Alternatively, from your subscribed address, send a message to @email{ffmpeg-user-request@@ffmpeg.org}
254 with the subject @emph{set delivery off}. To re-enable mail delivery send a
255 message to @email{ffmpeg-user-request@@ffmpeg.org} with the subject
256 @emph{set delivery on}.
258 @chapter Rules and Etiquette
260 @section What are the rules and the proper etiquette?
262 There may seem to be many things to remember, but we want to help and
263 following these guidelines will allow you to get answers more quickly
264 and help avoid getting ignored.
268 Always show your actual, unscripted @command{ffmpeg} command and the
269 complete, uncut console output from your command.
272 Use the most simple and minimal command that still shows the issue you
276 Provide all necessary information so others can attempt to duplicate
277 your issue. This includes the actual command, complete uncut console
278 output, and any inputs that are required to duplicate the issue.
281 Use the latest @command{ffmpeg} build you can get. See the @url{https://ffmpeg.org/download.html, FFmpeg Download}
282 page for links to recent builds for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Or
283 compile from the current git master branch.
286 Avoid @url{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posting_style#Top-posting, top-posting}.
287 Also see @ref{What is top-posting?}
290 Avoid hijacking threads. Thread hijacking is replying to a message and
291 changing the subject line to something unrelated to the original thread.
292 Most email clients will still show the renamed message under the
293 original thread. This can be confusing and these types of messages are
297 Do not send screenshots. Copy and paste console text instead of making
298 screenshots of the text.
301 Avoid sending email disclaimers and legalese if possible as this is a
305 Avoid using the @code{-loglevel debug}, @code{-loglevel quiet}, and
306 @command{-hide_banner} options unless requested to do so.
309 If you attach files avoid compressing small files. Uncompressed is
313 Please do not send HTML-only messages. The mailing list will ignore the
314 HTML component of your message. Most mail clients will automatically
315 include a text component: this is what the mailing list will use.
318 Configuring your mail client to break lines after 70 or so characters is
322 Avoid sending the same message to multiple mailing lists.
325 Please follow our @url{https://ffmpeg.org/developer.html#Code-of-conduct, Code of Conduct}.
330 @section Why am I not receiving any messages?
332 Some email providers have blacklists or spam filters that block or mark
333 the mailing list messages as false positives. Unfortunately, the user is
334 often not aware of this and is often out of their control.
336 When possible we attempt to notify the provider to be removed from the
337 blacklists or filters.
339 @section Why are my sent messages not showing up?
341 Excluding @ref{Why is my message awaiting moderator approval?, messages that are held in the moderation queue}
342 there are a few other reasons why your messages may fail to appear:
346 HTML-only messages are ignored by the mailing lists. Most mail clients
347 automatically include a text component alongside HTML email: this is what
348 the mailing list will use. If it does not then consider your client to be
349 broken, because sending a text component along with the HTML component to
350 form a multi-part message is recommended by email standards.
353 Check your spam folder.
356 @anchor{Who do I contact if I have a problem with the mailing list?}
357 @section Who do I contact if I have a problem with the mailing list?
359 Send a message to @email{ffmpeg-user-owner@@ffmpeg.org}.