- * Do global initialization of network components. This is optional,
- * but recommended, since it avoids the overhead of implicitly
- * doing the setup for each session.
+ * Do global initialization of network libraries. This is optional,
+ * and not recommended anymore.
+ *
+ * This functions only exists to work around thread-safety issues
+ * with older GnuTLS or OpenSSL libraries. If libavformat is linked
+ * to newer versions of those libraries, or if you do not use them,
+ * calling this function is unnecessary. Otherwise, you need to call
+ * this function before any other threads using them are started.