On Sat, Sep 10, 2022 at 08:51:21AM +0800, Paul Wise wrote: > Hi all, > > While firmware is the most important category of software not available > in Debian main needed by Debian users at install time, there are others. >
Hi Paul, I think there's a couple of issues here that need untangling. As you say, there's a spectrum of needs and users: Some people - including participants in this discussion - are content to have a system with no extra firmware loadable. Other people are happy to have all firmware, firmware updates from a manufacturer - and all shades in between. This GR is essentially about * whether we should include non-free firmware in an installer produced by the media team for Debian * what precedence we should give that and whether we should continue to produce an installer with no non-free firmware in addition Moving software to a new nonfree-firmware section means that we can be more clear about what is firmware and what is not. In some sense, nothing changes - Debian has always supported freedom and also its users. We can be honest that firmware is often required and that not all software is under our control - that's a necessary point to make. Whether this changes the SC at this point is probably a better subject for another GR in due course. It would be good and useful to make this GR as simple as possible and no simpler. Multiplying installers might be a complexity too far at this or any other stage. With all the very best, as ever, Andy Cater
