Hi guys, Over the past week or so I've been thinking about how best to get libre kernels in the long term. I think the linux-libre kernel is a good start, as it's great to be able to point interested people to.
However as we know a lot of hardware doesn't work with it at present, as the parts it removes are needed for many things to work correctly. At the moment the deblob script at the core of linux-libre is largely destructive, that is it finds and removes the parts of linux we consider nonfree, leaving us with a (hopefully) fully free kernel. I think we can use the output from the script into a more constructive dialogue, by having it point to specific non-free parts of linux for us. I propose we use a wiki (a category on libreplanet?) to document each of these problematic sections. This could then be a really useful resource for kernel hackers to find and solve each problem area. Roughly speaking, pages should try to include the following sections (we don't have to create them all at once of course, can start out with stubs and gradually add this): - Where in the kernel tree the offending part is - What it does - Where it originated - Who's responsible for the driver / subsystem There seem to be quite a few kernel hackers who'd be willing to help fix problems, but the kernel community in general don't want a reduction in the functionality of the kernel, so we need to help them deal constructively with each issue. It will take some time, and the kernel will not get rid of the parts we object to overnight. However if we can help to provide replacements for each part, we can gradually be part of ensuring the kernel is responsive to all of our needs, and respects the freedom of everyone. Sound familiar to those of you who know the history of the GNU project? I'm going to be very busy for the next week or so, but after then I'd be delighted to help start such an initiative. I look forward to hearing from people. Sincerely, Nick White -- GPG : 0x04E4653F 9732D7C7A441D79EFDF094F61F48567404E4653F
pgpv1XGHeLsbv.pgp
Description: PGP signature
_______________________________________________ linux-libre mailing list [email protected] http://www.fsfla.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/linux-libre
