I think this might be the best option...

Have firmware only for networking devices and scsi/sata/ide controllers on the net installation disk. At least let the system support vectors be 100% or as close to 100% compatible as possible. If it is needed post-install the have it offered.

Why? Devuan needs to be far reaching to as many systems as possible.

Why? Nobody wants to download a distribution only to find their hardware isn't supported... PERIOD!

Devuan must reach the masses. Period. Devuan must show it not only is a friendly system, but is a system that is able to support it's community.

This isn't about free versus non-free. Those days are long past gone. The less a distribution supports, the more it falls away into a niche. Niche distributions do not go places or make bold statements. Devuan must be able to stand against Debian toe to toe, as well as Arch, Slackware, Gentoo, Ubuntu, Fedora, etc.

Firmware that makes a system usable is and should always be welcomed. The more you limit, the less users you have.

What the user does to their system after installation shouldn't be a concern. What should be a concern, how many users can we win over.

If this was a true war, would you fight to win one battle, or fight to win a whole war even if it cost a battle or two?

Just food for thought.

Sent from my Windows Phone
________________________________
From: Didier Kryn<mailto:kryn@in2p3.fr>
Sent: ‎6/‎5/‎2015 1:55 AM
To: dng@???<mailto:dng@lists.dyne.org>
Subject: Re: [Dng] straw poll, non-free firmware for installers


Le 05/06/2015 07:50, Isaac Dunham a écrit :
>
>> > From a legal point of view, I would also carefully refrain from
>> >redistributing any non-free firmware in Devuan, the main reason being
>> >that usually you*don't* have the right to redistribute it, and even
>> >if you have got this right from the HW constructor, such right can be
>> >withdrawn any moment at their own will, which might be a quite
>> >unpleasent surprise for Devuan...
> There is a*very* large set of non-free firmware for which at least your
> first claim is false, and for much of it the second is false as well.
> I've actually read several of the licenses in firmware-linux-nonfree.
>
> b43 is/was a notable exception, getting it the "b43-fwcutter" package...
> which leads me to mention something else:
> The criteria for something getting into debian non-free require your
> claims to be false for that package, if it isn't a downloader or
> installer.

     I think one could always make the following argument: I have paid
for a device which cannot work without the firmware; therefore what I
paid for is a set which includes hardware and firmware. Sorry but when I
buy a car, it is a package which includes the key; otherwise I wouldn't
buy it.

     Didier

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