Debian to vote on its firmware path

Of course, I want things to "just work". But Debian being Debian forces me to pay attention: next time I am out buying hardware, I want it to work without nonfree firmware if feasible. I'll install it to squeeze that extra oomph if needed be, stuff is expensive. I have to, but I don't like it.

I tend to run my gear to the ground. Manufacturers abandon things too early. The community doesn't, provided they can carry on.

Case in point: OpenWRT... I flat out refuse to buy anything OpenWRT does not support, because vendor support for consumer - and even prosumer/business, if you ask me - tends to be trash if you're an individual/small business.

OpenWRT is reliable, saved a *LOT* of my gear from the landfill along the years, and just goes on and on and on. It respects me as an user, and in turn I respect its developers. I trust them to not take this stance just out of spite.

Same goes for Debian.

My ath9k devices from 2014 are rocking solid and show no signs of giving up. That's how it should be, and it's all thanks to OpenWRT. I know D-Link and TP-Link could not care less, even if I paid them to do just that!

The landscape for Debian is different than OpenWRT's (thanks to ath9k I assume?), but they still fight the good fight. It may look like a sucker punch - far from it. It raises awareness. And, as things start to gain steam on that direction, with a bunch of new players looking to disrupt the market, RISC-V on the horizon, and so on, it is the worst time possible to abandon this stubborn, yet absolutely necessary stance.

I'll keep using the nonfree iso when I must, and I hope that, one day, I won't have to. Keep fighting the good fight, Debian.