[FFmpeg-devel] Re: [POLL][VOTE] Sponsors & Funding

["Rémi Denis-Courmont via ffmpeg-devel" <ffmpeg-devel@ffmpeg.org>]

Le torstaina 2. lokakuuta 2025, 15.55.16 Itä-Euroopan kesäaika Michael 
Niedermayer via ffmpeg-devel a écrit :
> "Yes"
>  - The FFmpeg project should actively seek sponsors and funding.

Repeating myself but that sentence does not mean anything. How are we supposed 
to vote on something so vague?

If FFmpeg is/becomes a legal entity of its, that sort of mission statement 
could be included in the statutes. That could justify an FFmpeg foundation 
funding trusted community members to attend tradeshows to look for sponsors 
and funding, for example. But that sentence cannot be thrown like this on its 
lonesome. Otherwise, FFmpeg is just a collection of assets such as trademarks, 
domain names and hardware held by SPI or Fabrice. Assets can't "actively seek 
sponsors".

I suppose that you mean the FFmpeg community. But as Gyan already pointed out 
in previous threads, even that's poorly defined. And in any case, One Does Not 
Simply compel the community to "actively seek sponsors". People can actively 
seek sponsors already, and they can also choose not to. Voting one way or the 
other will make no differences.

>  - The money will be used for FFmpeg and the FFmpeg community. (Maintenance,
> Development, Infra, Testing, Travel, Research, ...)

I don't think that we need to vote on funding infra, travel and testing. Those 
things are already being funded through SPI regardless of this call for vote, 
and nobody suggested that that should stop.

As for research, bluntly, this is too vague and open-ended. Normally research 
has deliverables such as peer-reviewed papers or working code or whatever. 
Also this is probably better handled via academia or via NLnet-type 
foundations.

>     Employing people is complex as it requires compliance to local
> regulations. Thus it should be expected that for employing developers, we
> will likely need to work together with local companies. That is if we want
> to employ someone in Country X we could partner with a company in Country X
> which then employs the developer and SPI would pay that company.

True. But with that in mind, what's the difference between the "yes" and "no" 
options? Developers can already be hired by local companies or run their own 
consultancies. I believe some people here are already doing just that.

-- 
德尼-库尔蒙‧雷米
Hagalund ny stad, f.d. Finska republik Nylands



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