A take against "Firmware - what are we going to do about it?"

From	Francisco José Fernández Naranjo <fjfnaranjo@gmail.com>
Newsgroups	linux.debian.project
Subject	A take against "Firmware - what are we going to do about it?"
Date	2022-04-19 18:40 +0200
Message-ID	<EdZ3r-9OLf-1@gated-at.bofh.it> (permalink)
Organization	linux.* mail to news gateway

Show all headers | View raw

Hi there!

I'm Naranjo, a proud Debian user :) i'm also a avid Redditor :)

Today, I've been watching a trending topic in a few sub-reddits
pointing to this article:

https://blog.einval.com/2022/04/19#firmware-what-do-we-do

I wrote my take in the Debian sub-reddit and I will like to post it
here too. This is just a personal take but I think it summarizes a
common feeling about other Debian users I now. I'm open to criticism
about it and maybe I can provide extra context if someone ask for it.
I didn't intended it to sound harsh, but I can see how it sounds a
little bit like it.

The following is my take in Reddit with emotional emphasis removed:


Mixing free and non-free software goes against the fundamental nature
of Debian. As stated in their ideological-oriented objectives and
philosophy:

https://www.debian.org/intro/why_debian

https://www.debian.org/intro/philosophy

If they change this criteria it will erode a lot of trust I and (I
guess) many people have in he project leadership.

Having the non-free installer more prominent in the download page
(with a visible warning about it) is ok. But allowing non-free
software to be distributed with free software in the main default
installer is going to harm the project.

I use the non-free image myself a lot, but having the free image as
the main focus makes myself trust them for many personal and
professional hosts. If they change this, it will look hypocritical,
like the way a politician twist the narrative to pursue a personal
interest disregarding the common good.

It also validates the strict POV of the FSF and RMS, making their
apparent excessive zealot a justified cautionary tale.

Back to linux.debian.project | Previous | Next | Find similar | Unroll thread

Thread

A take against "Firmware - what are we going to do about it?" Francisco José Fernández Naranjo <fjfnaranjo@gmail.com> - 2022-04-19 18:40 +0200

csiph-web