Let's stop feeding the NVidia cuckoo
Hi list,
I would like to hear your comments on the matter
before I submit a bug report asking for the removal
from base of the nv X driver and possibly also of the
rivafb kernel module for severe policy violation. The
code for nv is voluntarily obfuscated, in effect
making it proprietary: its sole maintainer is an
NVidia employee, because only him has access to the
readable source and to the specifications of the
cards. This post gives a good overview of the problem
at hand:
https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-list/2003-October/msg00944.html
Although the DFSG do not envisage the issue, the GPL
does tackle it: "The source code for a work means the
preferred form of the work for making modifications to
it". I am aware the DFSG !== the GPL, nevertheless the
GPL is obviously as good a definition of free software
as any, and whichever your sensibility, open-source or
free software, NVidia is playing foul. Its motives for
not releasing anything useful, whatever they are,
should not get us carried away: if Debian is to remain
committed to its founding ideals, it should not allow
such more-than-borderline misbehaviour. Besides of the
problem on principles, if any "pragmatic" complaint
was necessary, how do you feel at the idea of a
non-peer-reviewed, untrusted piece of code running on
your box with full root privileges ? As an unfortunate
owner of an NVidia card, I thus propose Debian does
like me and switches to the VESA driver in its default
install for all things NVidia. Nv and probably also
rivafb (comments welcome) belong in non-free.
Cheers,
Camille d'Alméras
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