[FFmpeg-devel] Is the GA democratic ?

[Soft Works]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: ffmpeg-devel <ffmpeg-devel-bounces at ffmpeg.org> On Behalf Of
> Niklas Haas
> Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2025 7:49 PM
> To: FFmpeg development discussions and patches <ffmpeg-
> devel at ffmpeg.org>
> Subject: Re: [FFmpeg-devel] Is the GA democratic ?
> 
> On Tue, 21 Jan 2025 18:41:49 +0100 Michael Niedermayer
> <michael at niedermayer.cc> wrote:
> > Hi
> >
> > As people likely know i belive it is not but i got a 2nd opinion:
> >
> >
> > I asked chat gpt this:
> > [...]
> 
> The validity and relevance of AI tools notwithstanding, I suggest to
> take a
> look at this ChatGPT session:
> 
> https://chatgpt.com/share/678febb2-a3ac-8003-953c-0b06d78020ba
> 
> While it tries very hard to maintain a neutral tone throughout,
> highlighting
> the strengths of both a democratic and centralized power model in
> FOSS projects,
> it does succinctly summarize the current problems in the FFmpeg
> community and
> offers a clear solution to our current community woes.
> 
> I want to highlight some quotes:
> 
> > In summary, while FFmpeg officially adopts a democratic governance
> model
> > with decision-making through consensus and voting, there are
> indications
> > that, in practice, the project may still exhibit characteristics of
> a
> > BDFL model. This suggests that FFmpeg's governance may align with
> the
> > scenario where a democratically elected committee's decisions are
> > occasionally overridden by a single leader, reflecting a hybrid
> model with
> > centralized influences.
> >
> > [...]
> >
> > Risks of Status Quo:
> >   If contributors perceive that the democratic process is a façade
> or their
> >   input is consistently disregarded, community morale and trust
> will erode.
> >   The project may face difficulty scaling or sustaining long-term
> growth if
> >   contributors disengage, potentially stagnating as competing
> projects (or
> >   forks) attract disillusioned members.
> >
> > [...]
> >
> > My Recommendation
> >
> >  FFmpeg should move toward a more democratic governance model for
> its
> >  long-term sustainability and growth. The project has grown too
> large and
> >  essential for authoritarian leadership to remain practical or
> desirable.
> >
> > [...]
> >
> > Removing all disgruntled community members and consolidating sole
> control
> > under an authoritarian leader may appear to streamline governance
> in the
> > short term, but it is rarely a sustainable or beneficial strategy
> in the
> > long term.
> 
> Of course, only a fool would take anything an AI chatbot says at face
> value.

There's one aspect in which AI has already surpassed humans, and that is writing text which seems so plausible and reasonable that you can easily fall for trusting it, even when it's factually nothing more than a huge piece of BS. 

Anyway, it is easy to control the response and get almost any kind of answer you want by just retrying and adjusting the questions.

sw