1 files changed, 8 insertions, 8 deletions
diff --git a/src/features/messages.js b/src/features/messages.js
index 326c420..0ea7520 100644
--- a/src/features/messages.js
+++ b/src/features/messages.js
@@ -12893,21 +12893,23 @@ export function messagesFeature(ctx) {
   // it starts playing"). The server's first frame (vmedia first.jpg: frame
   // 0 at full size, any host, any layout, cached at the CDN) is the first
   // choice, fetched and decoded aside and put on the slide when it is
-  // ready; the frame drawn here is the fallback for the next clip; a clip
-  // with neither keeps the still there is (a kept frame, the post's
-  // picture), soft but not black, replaced by a first frame when one comes.
+  // ready; the frame drawn here is the fallback for the next clip. A clip
+  // with neither gets no picture at all — and so stays out of the carousel
+  // (pagerReveal): the post's own still, put up meanwhile, was often not
+  // the clip's first frame, and the swap from one to the other jarred
+  // (Adam, 2026-10-17: "i don't want to show posters and then switch to
+  // the first frame … could we just always wait until we have a non-black
+  // frame before including the video in the pager?").
   function slideFrame(s, k) {
     const v = s.querySelector('video.mp-media');
     if (!v || v._frame === 'first' || v._frameBusy) return;
     const url = v.getAttribute('data-src');
     const put = (p, kind) => {
       if (!p || !pager || !s.isConnected || v._frame === 'first') return false;
-      if (kind === 'soft' && (v._frame || pager.cur === s)) return false; // never a soft still under the clip on screen
       v.setAttribute('poster', p); v._frame = kind;
       pagerReveal();
       return true;
     };
-    const soft = () => put(videoThumbs.get(url) || posterOf(s._ev, url), 'soft');
     const first = serverFirst(url);
     if (first && !serverFirstFailed.has(url)) {
       v._frameBusy = true;
@@ -12926,10 +12928,8 @@ export function messagesFeature(ctx) {
     if (k === 0 && !v._grabbed) { // the next clip: its opening is in the cache, the frame comes from there
       v._grabbed = true;
       v._frameBusy = true;
-      pagerPoster(playSrc(url)).then((p) => { v._frameBusy = false; if (!put(p, 'first')) soft(); });
-      return;
+      pagerPoster(playSrc(url)).then((p) => { v._frameBusy = false; put(p, 'first'); });
     }
-    if (first) soft(); // (the server had none: the still, if any, rather than black)
   }
   // The opening of a clip about to be reached, fetched into the browser's
   // HTTP cache with a range request: the player's own request for the file