yes, this has been discussed on the mailing since about a year before debian 12 was released - now that it is released and we have seen it's form, it is most likely that all newly installed debian systems would be highly prone to false-positives - most hardware will "just work" and there is no easy way for the user to know if it works only because of non-free firmware - RMS also agreed that debian 12 should not be an option
though it is still possible to install and maintain a libre debian system, it is not obvious how to do it - it appears that all debian ISOs now include all non-free firmwares in the debian repos, and the primary installer (the calamares GUI installer) installs all non-free firmwares onto the the user's system without mentioning that it is doing so, nor offering a way to opt out, even if the computer has no hardware which would make use of any of them
though not mentioned, for completeness, debian testing and unstable also need to be deactivated for the same reason - they have existing entries associated with them; so they probably can not be removed, strictly specking, without also deleting those records
debian 12 should not have been added in the first place - that complicates the situation; because it too may have gathered entries now - those should probably all be reviewed - somewhat related, i see that trisquel 11 is not an option, though it could have been added around the same time as debian 12; so this will need some sorting out - i have recently been granted admin access; and i am looking into how to address these concerns now
@billauger,any progress so far? I think at least we could add Trisquel 11 to the list first.
submitted by
WuRui, 04:05, 13 November 2024