Re: Bug#239952: kernel-source-2.6.4: qla2xxx contains non-free firmware
On Thu, Mar 25, 2004 at 01:45:22AM +0100, Adrian Bunk wrote:
> Package: kernel-source-2.6.4
> Severity: grave
>
> It seems the following files of the qla2xxx driver contain non-free
> firmware:
> ./drivers/scsi/qla2xxx/ql2100_fw.c
> ./drivers/scsi/qla2xxx/ql6322_fw.c
> ./drivers/scsi/qla2xxx/ql2300_fw.c
> ./drivers/scsi/qla2xxx/ql2200_fw.c
> ./drivers/scsi/qla2xxx/ql6312_fw.c
> ./drivers/scsi/qla2xxx/ql2322_fw.c
I presume you're objecting to these firmware on the basis that they
are being distributed as machine code.
I personally find this attitude to be extreme. However, I have in
the past removed a number of drivers for exactly this reason at the
request of other developers.
I would like the opinion of all Debian developers on the general issue
of firmware in the kernel-source package.
If we do decide to remove them, then we can remove quite a number of
other drivers for the same reason, I can think of qlogicisp and tg3
off the top of my head.
I recall that when this issue was first raised with the keyspan drivers,
some of the people advocating their removal promised to modify the
drivers so that the firmware could be loaded from userspace (just like how
the anti-non-free camp promised to host non-free packages), it appears
that after three years this support still has not materialised.
Perhaps the easiest solution is to move all kernel packages into non-free.
PS I'm deliberately avoiding debian-legal as the inhabitants there tend
to have views that are not necessarily representative of the project
as a whole.
--
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