What are Your Takes On "GNU Purism"



Why Are You Typing Like This? It's A New Teenager Thing, Or What?
 
To me, I must say-
A- Is it a boot loader?
B- Can I modify it (Even if IDK How)
C-Is it free?

Any boot loader that fits this Criteria Is A-OK with me.
I am tied in no particular attachment to any Bootloader-- As long as it boots linux, I'm fine with it.
(With one exception of Old PPC Mac firmware, as that included the Linux logo built in on the PPC G4 Systems- This is when I really respected apple)
 
piorunz said:
Why Are You Typing Like This? It's A New Teenager Thing, Or What?
Click to expand...
It's Called Camel Case Lol. The Op Must Be A Coder or Smth.

---

I don't like GNU OS's because they don't use Linux, they have their own kernel called Hurd.
Everything else, I respect FSF and GNU.

I'm on Stallman's side when it comes to his criticism about how Linux project failed to give credit to GNU. (you know the whole thing calling it a Linux OS is wrong)
 
f33dm3bits said:
There's Linux distributions that have GNU approval.
Click to expand...
Nobody uses these distros, I've not yet heard on this forums someone using any one of them; probably the only exception is PureOS

f33dm3bits said:
If I remember it right I think Richard Stallman even uses Trisquel.
Click to expand...
I know he said he never installed "GNU slash Linux" (that's how he calls what most people call "Linux")
 
CaffeineAddict said:
I know he said he never installed "GNU slash Linux" (that's how he calls what most people call "Linux")
Click to expand...

How I do my Computing

stallman.org stallman.org
As of 2022 I use a Thinkpad x200 computer, which has a free initialization program (called Libreboot when it was installed, but now called GNU Boot) and a free operating system (Trisquel GNU/Linux). It was not sold that way by Lenovo, however; small businesses buy them used, recondition them, and install the free software. This is one of the computers endorsed by the FSF. I've used other Thinkpad models that similarly respect users' freedom since the early 2010s.
Click to expand...
 
CaffeineAddict said:
He's using Ubuntu based system?? probably he was drunk while writing this lol
Click to expand...
It doesn't use the Linux kernel most distributions use.

Documentation | Trisquel GNU/Linux - Run free!

trisquel.info trisquel.info
What is Trisquel?
Trisquel GNU/Linux is a distribution of the GNU operating system, with the kernel GNU Linux-libre.

Trisquel comes ready for home and office use, and new programs are easy to find and install. Our documentation will help you explore your options.

Trisquel is free. We mean "free" in the freedom software sense.
Click to expand...
 
CaffeineAddict said:
It's Called Camel Case Lol. The Op Must Be A Coder or Smth.

---

I don't like GNU OS's because they don't use Linux, they have their own kernel called Hurd.
Everything else, I respect FSF and GNU.

I'm on Stallman's side when it comes to his criticism about how Linux project failed to give credit to GNU. (you know the whole thing calling it a Linux OS is wrong)
Click to expand...
Yeah, I am a Programmer.
 
CaffeineAddict said:
He's using Ubuntu based system?? probably he was drunk while writing this lol
Click to expand...
Despite his controversial opinion and age, I am glad we have him, he did a lot of good for Linux and open source in general.

Trisquel distro he is using is fully libre, meaning it doesn't offer any closed source drivers at all, no binary blobs. Everything is open source. At the same time it tracks Ubuntu so it's modern with fresh software. Latest Trisquel is based on Ubuntu 24.04 and will be supported until 2029. Not a bad choice.
 
I prefer FOSS, but I'll use proprietary software when it does a better job -- or when there are no realistic alternatives.

My preference is FOSS. I'm not against paying for software. In fact, I do pay for some software. (I also donate to some projects.) It's not a money thing, it's a rights thing. While there's little chance that I'll dive deep into the programming of an application, it's nice to know that I can do so, or that I can pay someone to do so on my behalf.

So, yes, I use proprietary software. (You're using proprietary software right now.) I prefer FOSS when I can, but I'm not a zealot or anything like that. What matters most to me is the results.
 
Anyone interested should try "virtual Richard M. Stallman" package. :D

Code: 
DESCRIPTION
       This  program began as an attempt to create a "virtual Richard M. Stall‐
       man" for Debian GNU/Linux.  Thus the choice of name.

       This program analyzes the currently-installed package list on  a  Debian
       GNU/Linux system, and reports the non-free and contrib packages that are
       currently  installed  to stdout.  In some cases, such as regarding docu‐
       mentation licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License with invari‐
       ant sections, the opinions  of  Richard  M.   Stallman  and  the  Debian
       project  have  diverged  since  this program was originally written.  In
       such cases, this program follows the definition of freedom  embodied  in
       the Debian Free Software Guidelines.

       The  packages in the non-free tree have restrictions on their use and/or
       distribution which cause them to fail to meet the terms  of  the  Debian
       Free Software Guidelines included as part of the Debian Social Contract.
       However,  some are sufficiently useful that their presence is often tol‐
       erated by Debian users despite their licensing.

       The packages in the contrib tree are themselves free software  but  have
       some dependency on non-free software for their use that make them worthy
       of reporting so that their use can also be consciously considered.

       Richard  is  the  most vocal among us on the issue of software morality,
       and we agree with Richard that Debian users should have an easy  way  to
       know  when  they  are  running non-free software on their systems.  This
       program is our attempt to fill that need.
Code: 
$ vrms
               Non-free packages installed on ryzen

amd64-microcode                     Platform firmware and microcode for AMD CPUs and SoCs
firmware-amd-graphics               Binary firmware for AMD/ATI graphics and NPU chips

                Contrib packages installed on ryzen

lutris                              video game preservation platform
steam-installer                     Valve's Steam digital software delivery system
torbrowser-launcher                 helps download and run the Tor Browser Bundle
winetricks                          simple tool to work around common problems in Wine

  2 non-free packages, 0.1% of 2143 installed packages.
  4 contrib packages, 0.2% of 2143 installed packages.
 
piorunz said:
Anyone interested should try "virtual Richard M. Stallman" package. :D


$ vrms
Click to expand...
The vrms package in debian now has basically been replaced. Its functionality has been replicated in the package: check-dfsg-status. An example of the newer package's output shows similar output to the vrms program:
Code: 
[~]$ check-dfsg-status
                Non-free packages installed on min

firmware-amd-graphics               Binary firmware for AMD/ATI graphics and NPU chips
firmware-intel-graphics             Binary firmware for Intel iGPUs and IPUs
firmware-intel-misc                 Binary firmware for miscellaneous Intel devices and ch
firmware-iwlwifi                    Binary firmware for Intel Wireless cards
firmware-mediatek                   Binary firmware for MediaTek and Ralink chips for netw
firmware-misc-nonfree               Binary firmware for various drivers in the Linux kerne
firmware-nvidia-graphics            Binary firmware for Nvidia GPU chips
firmware-realtek                    Binary firmware for Realtek network and audio chips
firmware-sof-signed                 Intel SOF firmware - signed
intel-microcode                     Processor microcode firmware for Intel CPUs

                 Contrib packages installed on min

libdvd-pkg                          DVD-Video playing library - installer

  10 non-free packages, 0.4% of 2534 installed packages.
  1 contrib packages, 0.0% of 2534 installed packages.

In the changelog to the check-dfsg-status package (at /usr/share/doc/check-dfsg-status) it's made clear that vrms is to be dropped:
Code: 
<snip>
The vrms package is no longer available in the testing branch, 

check-dfsg-status (1.35) unstable; urgency=medium

  * d/tests/control: drop skip-not-installable which is deprecated, thanks
    Martin-Éric Racine. Closes: #1134936.
  * Convert d/copyright to dep5, thanks Martin-Éric Racine. Closes: #1134936.
  * Drop transitional package vrms. <--------------------------------------DROP vrms
  * Bump standards version to 4.7.4, optional priority and rules not requiring
    root are defaults now.
  * Drop old .gitlab-ci.yml (from stretch times).
  * Use general salsaCI pipeline via debian/salsa-ci.yml.

 -- Holger Levsen <[email protected]>  Mon, 25 May 2026 02:30:27 +0200
<snip>

The replacement package apparently was due to the differences that developed between the "Debian Free Software Guidelines" ( the "dfsg" in the package title) and Richard Stallman's guidelines as to what constitutes "free software".

Since the vrms package is no longer in the debian testing branch, it's not currently on the way to the next debian stable release which leaves the newer program to cover the same ground.
 
might be typing from a word processor. that "automagically" capitalizes each "significant" word...

that was supposed to be "programatically" above. but i've seen a few other people in forums. posting like that. but weren't programmers. it included the support forum. of an mmorpg i played for about two years.

once i did check out trisquel with kde. could only remember i didn't like it. for something that hated wifi internet. gnuinos "chimaera" was better. only if it didn't send me into the "request non-free firmware" loop...

i think pureos follows those strict concepts. avoid "blobs" and proprietary drivers and stuff like that. they put out a new release a short time ago.

for a few people to be convinced what "purism" could be. need to write a linux os from the ground up. even bypass linux from scratch. or figure out how to create it without "systemd".

i don't care about purity. that caused a lot of pointless deaths in world history. frustration in technology and in other fields of high intelligence. what @KGIII said summed it up for me.
 
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