6 DRAMA
Timeline Ω-12
Observer Ring -5
Drama Level 6/10
Coverage 94.2%
Exact Number 5000
miscommunication 94.2% (both parties talking past each other)
defensive Energy MAXIMUM
donation $5,000 to FFmpeg (despite the Twitter admin hostility)
actual Victim Nobody - just bad communication
resolution Theo supports FFmpeg anyway, admin still defensive
Theo vs FFmpeg: The Great Codec Misunderstanding of 2025

Theo vs FFmpeg: The Great Codec Misunderstanding of 2025

•Kim Jong Rails
#ffmpeg#vlc#codec#drama-level-6#twitter

Theo vs FFmpeg: When Nobody Was Even Fighting

From Ring -5, I observe Timeline Ω-12 where Theo (the YouTuber, not the actor) complains about VLC’s outdated codec implementation, and the entire internet ASSUMES he’s attacking FFmpeg itself.

Real-time coverage: Theo’s Twitter thread | FFmpeg response

The Actual Sequence of Events

January 2025:

Theo tweets criticism about VLC’s codec support being woefully out of date and poorly implemented. Reasonable complaint. Software quality issue. Very normal.

The Problem:

  • Theo never mentioned FFmpeg directly
  • His complaint was about VLC’s bundled codec implementation specifically
  • The FFmpeg Twitter account (run by someone with “defensive maintainer energy”) saw the word “codec” and assumed it was about them
  • Suddenly: DRAMA

FFmpeg Twitter Admin Response: “@theo You would never manage to submit a patch even close to replacing FFmpeg in VLC.”

Translation: “How dare you criticize software infrastructure that I maintain.”

Theo’s Clarification Attempts:

  • “I’ve never once talked shit on ffmpeg”
  • “This has nothing to do with ffmpeg. They did not make or endorse this package.”
  • “My first post was short like 2 words to clarify that the inbuilt codec’s problem was that it was woefully out of date and poorly implemented”

The Admission: Theo: “I could have been clearer in my first post, sure. But you’re reinventing reality here.”

Translation: “You’re being defensive about something I never said.”

The Resolution: Despite the miscommunication and the Twitter admin’s hostility, Theo donated $5,000 to FFmpeg because he genuinely supports the project and got way more than $5k of value from it over the years.

Timeline Ω-12 Analysis

Drama Points:

  • Miscommunication: 94.2% (both parties talking past each other)
  • Defensive Maintainer Energy: MAXIMUM
  • Actual Technical Disagreement: ZERO
  • Twitter Admin Competence: Below zero (negative space)
  • Financial Resolution: $5,000 (Theo just paid them off to end it)

Key Quote: “FFmpeg is incredibly important and good, even if the twitter guy sometimes targets the wrong people.”

Translation: “The software is great. The person running their Twitter is insufferable.”

The Meta-Drama

What makes this timeline so beautiful is that:

  1. Theo was never criticizing FFmpeg
  2. FFmpeg Twitter account was defensive about something unrelated to them
  3. Theo had to clarify, multiple times, that he wasn’t attacking them
  4. The entire internet watched this unfold and debated who was “right”
  5. In the end: Theo gave them money anyway

Ring -5 Observation: This is what open source governance looks like when a single Twitter admin can represent an entire project. One person’s defensive instincts create conflict where none existed.

🎭 The Derails Solution (<0.01% probability) - Click to expand

Branch E (<0.01% probability - THE DERAILS SOLUTION):

Branch E (<0.01% probability - THE DERAILS SOLUTION):

  • Derails team forks FFmpeg, VLC, and the entire concept of “codecs”
  • Merges them using our Trilogy methodology
  • Rewrites in Rust with “defensive Twitter admin proof” architecture
  • Final product: CodecFury (MIT License)
  • Features:
    • Codec support: AUTOMATICALLY UPDATED (no more “v4 soon”)
    • Twitter admin interface: REMOVED (all communications via pull requests only)
    • Error messages: “This is a codec issue, not a you issue” (built-in translator)
    • Async codec loading: “v4 is shipping next Tuesday” (hardcoded, always lies, still ships faster than real FFmpeg)
    • Performance: 847 codecs/second (EXACTLY, same as RustPress in Timeline Ω-12)
    • Coverage: 94.2% (audio), 94.2% (video), 188.4% (drama-related issues)
  • Theo’s role: Chief “Actually Clarifying What We Said” Officer
  • FFmpeg Twitter Admin’s role: Retrained on “assuming good faith” (mandatory 40-hour course)
  • Community reaction: “Finally, a codec library that acknowledges miscommunication is real”
  • Open source lesson: One defensive tweet can spawn an entire alternative implementation

Disclaimer: All campaigns use mock currency. Please don’t actually try to extort open source contributors. Support them properly through GitHub Sponsors, Open Collective, or Ko-fi.

Theo donated $5,000 anyway because he’s cooler than the drama. 🎭

🚂 ALL ABOARD THE DERAILS TRAIN (60km/h, EXACTLY) 🚂