回复： Why linux-libre removes free firmwares?!

[Alexandre Oliva]

On Sep 14, 2012, ""Yeking at Red54.com"" <308739652 at qq.com> wrote:

> cis firmwares have been removed.

They're under the GPL, and the corresponding sources do not accompany
the Linux source distribution.

The binary configuration files can be trivially converted back to
sources, but I don't think that's enough for the binaries to qualify as
sources under the GPL.

So it's safer for us to remove them.

> Are you sure linux-libre did not remove any free firmware??

Without corresponding sources or a written offer, they're distributed in
violation of the GPL, so its automatic termination clause kicks in, and
you lose any rights you'd gotten under the GPL, so you can't distribute
or modify them any more.  Does that sound like Free to you? :-)

-- 
Alexandre Oliva, freedom fighter    http://FSFLA.org/~lxoliva/
You must be the change you wish to see in the world. -- Gandhi
Be Free! -- http://FSFLA.org/   FSF Latin America board member
Free Software Evangelist      Red Hat Brazil Compiler Engineer