Re: non-free firmware: driver in main or contrib?

[Matthew Garrett <mgarrett@chiark.greenend.org.uk>]

Nathanael Nerode <neroden@twcny.rr.com> wrote:
> Matthew Garrett wrote:
>> Nowadays very few drivers will work without the presence of non-free
>> software.
> 
> (For the sake of argument, I'll treat this as true and go from there.)
> 
> How sad that very few drivers belong in independent packages in "main".

Hm.

> There is a general rule for drivers (and other stuff) which would normally
> be 'contrib', however.  If the driver is only part of the package, and some
> significant part of the package works without the non-free software, then
> the driver can be included in the package in "main".  But you knew that.

That implies that by simply repackaging the external driver as part of
our kernel patch, we could ship it in main. This is obviously
ridiculous. The manner of packaging should not influence whether we
think something is adequately free to go in main.

-- 
Matthew Garrett | mjg59-chiark.mail.debian.legal@srcf.ucam.org