Debian Removes Binary-only Firmware From Kernel

mbanck writes "The Debian Linux kernel maintainer has announced that he will remove firmware from GPL'd drivers which obviously lack source code in its preferred form (i.e. something more appropriate than a hexdump inside a char[]), in accordance with the release manager's decision. The alternatives are user-space loading of the firmware via hotplug's request_firmware() API or making the vendors aware of the issue. How do the other distributions handle this?"

Comments

Re:how other distros handle it

[Brandybuck]

This is an example of a rare thing called "Integrity": sticking to your principles, even when it's inconvenient, or painful.

Except in this case the principle their sticking to is rabid legalism. It's pragmatism taken to an extreme. It has nothing to do with FSF style "save the users from themselves" ideology.

Re:how other distros handle it

[Brandybuck]

What's "rabid" or "legalistic" about that?

If the GPL had a clause (or the kernel added an exception) that would allow binary firmware, then Debian would not care about this issue. Even though the spirit of the GPL would not have changed. Even though the Debian guidelines had not changed. Even though the relation between Debian users and the hardware manufacturers had not changed. Their actions in this matter are not based on ideology, but on adhering to the exact letter of a license even though other distributions that actually employ teams of lawyers have found no problems with it.

Extremes, by definition, are not pragmatic!

Precisely. Which is why I used that phrase. Not wanting to get sued is pragmatic. But their efforts to absolutely guarantee this move beyond pragmatism to absurdity.