Open source keeps our technological world afloat. It does this without us realizing it, but the servers on which online platforms small and large run are based on Linux operating systems, web servers such as Apache or Nginx, or databases such as MySQL and MariaDB.

Meanwhile, a large number of Open Source projects are used for personal, but also commercial purposes: they often provide some features within a larger project, but often the relevance of these projects is not publicly available and companies usually do not do this. He noted that their solutions benefit from Open Source components.

This is the case of FFmpeg, an experienced toolset that allows you to record, convert and publish audio and video. This component is integrated into Chrome and Firefox browsers, applications such as VLC, platforms such as YouTube or Twitch, and even cloud infrastructures such as AWS, Google Cloud Platform or Azure.

However, it often happens that companies try to take advantage of the open philosophy of these solutions and try not to pay the minimum amount for them. This is what was discovered recently For example, Microsoft who does not want to pay a support contract To those responsible for FFmpeg.

It was reported by people in charge of the service that it showed an exchange of messages that occurred in May 2023, when a Microsoft software engineer named Zied Aouina asked for help on the FFmpeg forum to solve a technical problem.

Speaking about the problem, Aouina stated – politely but in an urgent tone – “this is a ticket [de soporte] high priority and the FFmpeg version is currently used in a Microsoft high visibility product. We have customers experiencing issues with captions during Live Events in Teams. Please help”.

This demanding tone would be normal for a company that pays in full for a support service that resolves major issues quickly, but Microsoft isn’t paying for this service.

This was stated on the official FFmpeg Twitter account, where they explained that after requesting such support from Microsoft, the company only offered a one-time payment of a few thousand dollars. “This is unacceptable“, shouted those responsible for FFmpeg.

Actually the same developers they remembered just below that is another example of “investing in maintenance and sustainability” [de proyectos Open Source] They’re not sexy.” We’ve already seen what’s happening with the xz vulnerability these days, and the situation that exists in Open Source is tragic in this space.

Developers who champion these projects (often isolated and lonely) often do so as a hobby, because those who benefit from them (including companies) They are often considered “free” projects. both in terms of its use and support.

This is something we’ve talked about in the past: Open Source developers rightly want users and companies to You help them, they hold your arm.

Developing these projects with this kind of flexibility invites everyone to share and improve them, but the norm is that ultimately a single person is responsible for the management and maintenance of the project. Even when a large company uses it, as in the case of FFmpeg, financial support is minimal, if at all.

What a tragedy.

Image | kq7w with midjourney

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