Hi there! I'm Naranjo, a proud Debian user :) i'm also a avid Redditor :)
Today, I've been watching a trending topic in a few sub-reddits pointing to this article: https://blog.einval.com/2022/04/19#firmware-what-do-we-do I wrote my take in the Debian sub-reddit and I will like to post it here too. This is just a personal take but I think it summarizes a common feeling about other Debian users I now. I'm open to criticism about it and maybe I can provide extra context if someone ask for it. I didn't intended it to sound harsh, but I can see how it sounds a little bit like it. The following is my take in Reddit with emotional emphasis removed: Mixing free and non-free software goes against the fundamental nature of Debian. As stated in their ideological-oriented objectives and philosophy: https://www.debian.org/intro/why_debian https://www.debian.org/intro/philosophy If they change this criteria it will erode a lot of trust I and (I guess) many people have in he project leadership. Having the non-free installer more prominent in the download page (with a visible warning about it) is ok. But allowing non-free software to be distributed with free software in the main default installer is going to harm the project. I use the non-free image myself a lot, but having the free image as the main focus makes myself trust them for many personal and professional hosts. If they change this, it will look hypocritical, like the way a politician twist the narrative to pursue a personal interest disregarding the common good. It also validates the strict POV of the FSF and RMS, making their apparent excessive zealot a justified cautionary tale.
