So it can be free software and be of "bad" quality, and even malicious (until
detected) after all.
Funny, I too had some of those assumptions about free software, even though
now that I think about it, it's pretty obvious.
network-manager (which I couldn't install in my netinstall btw) for example
seems to be good for GNOME, and for basic setups. I suspect that it
didn'thelp when I tried to modify the /etc/network/interfaces file to create
a bridge, which would then be considered advanced usage.
But it's a bit like saying you can't do image manipulation in Word as much as
in Photoshop, taking proprietary examples.
It's not limiting your freedom, it's what it's designed to do.