Yes, you're very right. They could simply have killed a codec that no one uses anymore. Or put it behind a compile flag, so if you really want, you can still enable it
But no. Intentionally or not, there was a whole drama created around it [1], with folks being criticized [2] for saying exactly what you said above, because their past (!) employers.
Instead of using the situation to highlight the need for more corporate funding for opensource projects in general, it became a public s**storm, with developers questioning their future contributions to projects. Shameful.
But no. Intentionally or not, there was a whole drama created around it [1], with folks being criticized [2] for saying exactly what you said above, because their past (!) employers.
Instead of using the situation to highlight the need for more corporate funding for opensource projects in general, it became a public s**storm, with developers questioning their future contributions to projects. Shameful.
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45806269
[2] https://x.com/FFmpeg/status/1985334445357051931