github.com/nikitasius/Telegraher

No one gets to decide what i run on my device
No one gets to decide where i run my app
No one gets to decide what must be deleted

No one gets to decide what i run on my device

(Except your device’s manufacturer)

No one gets to decide where i run my app

(Except your cloud/SaaSS provider or proprietary app developer)

No one gets to decide what must be deleted
(Except your cloud/SaaSS provider or proprietary app developer)

!I assume this was your point already, I am just agenda posting over here :3!<

What “agenda” are you posting? Tou’re just nay-saying.

Go eat hay elsewhere with that attitude.

I am pointing out that user-controlled computing and user freedom is in a bad shape. That’s not nay-saying, since there’s a way forward: open hardware and offline-first/p2p software.

We’ve had a way forward for 40 years and it’s called Free Software: youtu.be/Ag1AKIl_2GM

www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.en.html

I agree! But in at least one case the FSF’s understanding/handling of free software is ineffective: firmware. Especially with boot chain security being increasingly implemented in a user freedom hostile way, the focus as presented by the FSF is imo too narrow.

The FSF’s stance is just based on our current capabilities. Most people still use proprietary operating systems. We are capable of developing free alternatives of non-free programs, even very complicated ones. But it’s not realistic to think that we can currently replace all firmware for any device if we don’t know how it works. The amount of products that have the RYF certificate is already very small. Even Librem 5 didn’t manage to get it. When it becomes easier, I’m sure they will change the requirements or add more levels.

I’m pretty sure Libreboot contains proprietary firmware now and GNU is planning to develop an actually libre fork. So it’s silly for the developer to criticize the FSF for not being radical enough. It makes me think that the person doesn’t really believe in what they are saying.

But then the author says they want us to have proprietary firmware packages in our systems. So they want our OSes to be less libre… They even compare not including proprietary firmware to burning books… I stopped reading after that.

I am not saying that we need to replace every non-libre firmware, I am saying that not using firmware updates is hurting free software adoption and doesn’t advance user freedom.

But nobody is saying that there shouldn’t be a way to update firmware. Firmware just shouldn’t a be part of the OS, unless it’s free. Adding proprietary components to our systems will only make it harder for us to keep our freedom.

The proprietary firmware is already there, and if you don’t update it, your libre system becomes more insecure and less reliable. Distributing updates for those devices is a net gain for software freedom.

You don’t know what the proprietary update contains. It can be a security fix, but also a backdoor. People can decide on their own if they want to update, but I see no reason why I must be forced to have proprietary stuff in my system. I want a fully libre distro. I can’t switch to one, because I would have to give up on using AMD GPUs, because people like you say that this is fine.

No. You’re using a distro which enables you to use the devices you bought. If every distro would follow the misguided path, you would be unable to use your GPU with a libre operating system at all.
Nobody is stopping you to remove your firmware. Right now you’re not doing it, because you want actually functional hardware.

People like me can’t change what big companies do. They just do it, and get their money from other companies and consumers who don’t care.
I personally don’t want to watch while free operating systems become increasingly unusable and insecure. Let’s instead use the devices to our advantage as much as possible.