[0x09]

> You can't just have an mp4 (well, x264) file because that's patent-troubled.

This was true of gif until the mid 2000s, well after it became popular.

[pluma]

Only because gifs got a headstart in a time content creators mostly weren't aware of the patent situation. There was a huge push for a replacement once the situation became widely known. Gifs only had a massive renaissance _after_ the patent expired.

[Ezhik]

While GIF was gaining popularity as a video format (YTMND and all) in 2004 when the patents expired, I think it was later that it really exploded, with sites like Reddit appearing, and social media gaining steam in general.