Below is the output from apt remove *nonfree.

On both machines it looks pretty much identical. On both machines, it
mentions the following:

The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer
required:
amd64-microcode intel-microcode iucode-tool


This makes me think they were the programs that needed it.
Unfortunately I'm not ME free, and I don't trust intel (or amd) so I
worry that this nonfree software already did it's dirty work to enable
intel or amd spying.

aptitude why firmware-linux-nonfree
W: Package firmware-misc-nonfree had been marked to reinstall, but the
file for the current installed version 20161130-3 is not available
Manually installed, current version 20161130-3, priority optional
No dependencies require to install firmware-linux-nonfree
root@dooby1:/# aptitude why firmware-misc-nonfree
W: Package firmware-misc-nonfree had been marked to reinstall, but the
file for the current installed version 20161130-3 is not available
i   firmware-linux-nonfree Depends firmware-misc-nonfree (= 20161130-3)
root@dooby1:/# vi /etc/apt/sources.list
root@dooby1:/# history|grep nonfree
  496  apt list firmware-misc-nonfree
  497  history|grep firmeware-misc-nonfree
  498  apt show firmware-misc-nonfree
  499  apt --fix-broken install firmware-misc-nonfree
  510  apt-cache policy firmware-misc-nonfree
  511  aptitude why firmware-misc-nonfree
  512  aptitude reinstall firmware-misc-nonfree
  515  apt show firmware-linux-nonfree
  516  aptitude why firmware-linux-nonfree
  517  aptitude why firmware-misc-nonfree
  519  history|grep nonfree
root@dooby1:/# apt remove *nonfree
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
Note, selecting 'predictprotein-nonfree' for glob '*nonfree'
Note, selecting 'context-nonfree' for glob '*nonfree'
Note, selecting 'netpbm-nonfree' for glob '*nonfree'
Note, selecting 'context-doc-nonfree' for glob '*nonfree'
Note, selecting 'flashplugin-nonfree' for glob '*nonfree'
Note, selecting 'unace-nonfree' for glob '*nonfree'
Note, selecting 'texinfo-doc-nonfree' for glob '*nonfree'
Note, selecting 'firmware-linux-nonfree' for glob '*nonfree'
Note, selecting 'unrar-nonfree' for glob '*nonfree'
Note, selecting 'filters-nonfree' for glob '*nonfree'
Note, selecting 'firmware-misc-nonfree' for glob '*nonfree'
Package 'context-nonfree' is not installed, so not removed
Package 'context-doc-nonfree' is not installed, so not removed
Package 'filters-nonfree' is not installed, so not removed
Package 'texinfo-doc-nonfree' is not installed, so not removed
Package 'flashplugin-nonfree' is not installed, so not removed
Package 'netpbm-nonfree' is not installed, so not removed
Package 'unace-nonfree' is not installed, so not removed
Package 'predictprotein-nonfree' is not installed, so not removed
Package 'unrar-nonfree' is not installed, so not removed
The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer
required:
  amd64-microcode intel-microcode iucode-tool
Use 'apt autoremove' to remove them.
The following packages will be REMOVED:
  firmware-linux-nonfree firmware-misc-nonfree
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 2 to remove and 34 not upgraded.
After this operation, 8,174 kB disk space will be freed.

On Thu, 2020-01-09 at 14:28 -0700, 'smee via Dng wrote:
> Actually, when you run the ascii live installer, both of those
> programs
> are present.
>
> Should that be the case? I thought devuan include nothing nonfree by
> default...I have to make it part of my routine to remove them then
> from
> every devuan install.
> That's a surprising find..... :(
>
>
>
> On Thu, 2020-01-09 at 14:21 -0700, 'smee via Dng wrote:
> > I just checked another machine that is still running ascii, on
> > which
> > I
> > would never have installed anything nonfree, or via wget or dpkg,
> > and
> > yet both firmware-linux-nonfree and firmware-misc-nonfree are
> > there.
> >
> > I'm going to try a fresh install of ascii and see if they're there.
> > I
> > suspect they won't be, which will mean one of the few programs I
> > run
> > on
> > that machine would be at fault, so that should make it easier to
> > narrow
> > down. This is pretty odd though.
> >
> >
> >
> > On Thu, 2020-01-09 at 14:00 -0700, 'smee via Dng wrote:
> > > Well I'll just remove the damn things and see if nothing blows up
> > > :)
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On Thu, 2020-01-09 at 21:55 +0100, Antony Stone wrote:
> > > > > Sorry if we're getting off track here but I honestly don't
> > > > > recall
> > > > > installing anything nonfree on this machine.
> > > >
> > > > We may never get to the bottom of this mystery :)
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Dng mailing list
> > > Dng@???
> > > https://mailinglists.dyne.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/dng
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Dng mailing list
> > Dng@???
> > https://mailinglists.dyne.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/dng
>
> _______________________________________________
> Dng mailing list
> Dng@???
> https://mailinglists.dyne.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/dng