Hi, On Fri, Mar 7, 2025 at 2:51 PM <pan...@disroot.org> wrote: > > Dear Debian Community, > > I am Deep Pandya from Gujarat, India, and a long-time Debian user. I migrated > from Windows to Ubuntu in 2013 and later explored the philosophy of the GNU > project and the history of the free software movement. After trying > GNU-endorsed Trisquel and PureOS, I finally landed on Debian (Stretch > release) in 2019 and have been actively using it since (Buster, Bullseye, > Bookworm). In 2020, I even wrote a blog post, “Reasons to choose Debian among > GNU/Linux distributions” > (https://lignuxblog.wordpress.com/2020/08/27/reasons-to-choose-debian/). > Though I am not a programmer or software developer, I deeply care about > Debian’s values. > > In 2022, the General Resolution to officially include non-free firmware in > the installation images shocked me because it signified a move away from > Debian’s conceptual roots. > > I fully believe in the GNU philosophy and its uncompromising commitment to > freedom. Without that, we might not have had the Linux kernel under GPL or > even the open-source movement. However, when it comes to practical usability, > I acknowledge that some users—myself included—may need to install non-free > firmware for WiFi, Bluetooth, or graphics drivers. But in the past, when I > made such a compromise, I was aware of it. Debian used to perfectly balance > software freedom and usability—until 2022. > > I understand that users need proprietary drivers to run certain hardware, and > Debian should not ignore this reality. That is why I am not asking Debian to > become a fully GNU-endorsed distro like Trisquel, which rejects all non-free > software in every case. However, at the same time, Debian should not readily > promote non-free firmware to the point where it loses its philosophical > distinction and becomes just another convenience-focused distribution like > Ubuntu or Linux Mint. > > [A Ruinous Compromise] > > After compromising a byte, our goal should be to find/develop libre > alternatives so that, in the future, Debian users are less (bit) dependent on > non-free firmware. Instead, we did the opposite—compromising more, from a > byte to a kilobyte, for the sake of convenience. If this trend continues, > what stops us from reaching a megabyte of compromise? > > Debian’s official inclusion of non-free firmware contradicts its original > philosophical values and social contract. Today, Debian includes a few > non-free firmwares; tomorrow, it may include several; and the day after, > many. If we normalize this now, how will future Debian developers uphold our > values? This is the kind of ruinous compromise that GNU warns about: > https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/compromise.html > > > [A Call for Rethinking This Decision] > > I urge Debian to rethink its decision to officially include non-free firmware > and correct the social contract. Instead of making non-free firmware the > default, Debian should ensure that users consciously choose to install it > while being made aware of the implications. As GNU explains: > https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/install-fest-devil.html > > Imagine hiding the “devil” by making it an official part of Debian. > > Debian is Debian—the "devil" should not be an official part of it. > > I would like to close with a modified stanza from the Free Software Song, > which fits this situation perfectly: > > When we have enough free software, at our call, Debianers at our call, > We'll kick out these dirty firmware ever more, Debianers ever more. > > I look forward to hearing thoughts from the Debian community on this > important issue. > > Best Regards, > Deep P. Pandya
In short, the social contract is still being addressed, as the main repository remains in accordance with the DFSG and the firmwares separated into non-free-firmware that were moved from non-free. There is currently a need for these firmwares for the full functioning of recent machines and I had experience of this on a new machine purchased 2 years ago. The project has its own guidelines, which I defend, but following the philosophy of the GNU project, the project could not even distribute these firmwares and distribute Linux Libre to users. Unfortunately or fortunately, this would not be the focus of Debian, which distributes its own Kernel and this can be addressed by rereading the FSF's free distribution guidelines, the FSDG[1]. [1] https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-system-distribution-guidelines.html.en You can also opt for one of these distributions and Trisquel[2] would be based on Ubuntu which is based on Debian. https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.html [2] https://trisquel.info/en/wiki/documentation -- Cheers, Leandro Cunha
