160 lines
9.0 KiB
Markdown
160 lines
9.0 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "GNU Doesn't Care About Your Agency"
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date: 2022-02-10
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tags:
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- gnu
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- libre
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- rant
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---
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Or: Ubuntu gives the user more agency about how they want to use their computer
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than fully libre GNU/Linux distros ever can.
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There are many different kinds of Linux distributions, but today we're going to
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think about a certain kind of distribution: ones where the distribution is
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totally comprised of free software as much as possible.
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These distributions aim to let users benefit by making it possible to study,
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hack at and modify every byte of software on the machine's hard drive. This is a
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fairly noble goal, however in the process of doing this they break core parts of
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hardware compatibility by "de-blobbing" the kernel. Most of these distributions
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have a very paternalistic implementation where the "de-blobbed" linux-libre
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kernel is the _only_ option, thus limiting users' agency.
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For example, let's think about the CPU that I'm using right now. The CPU I'm
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using is designed to be able to load CPU microcode updates that are distributed
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by the manufacturer in order to mitigate bugs in the microcode that released
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with the CPU that can cause real-world impact on what I do. Due to Facts and
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Circumstances that are immutable for the sake of argument, this microcode is not
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open source and cannot be compiled from source code. The linux-libre kernel
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removes the ability to load such firmware updates at runtime.
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This means that if something like the FDIV bug or Spectre shows up again but it
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can be patched trivially with a microcode update, by nature of using the
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linux-libre kernel I am doomed until the base microcode gets updated from the
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motherboard manufacturer. If they release a closed-source update that you cannot
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inspect or modify.
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This paternalistic view of "you shouldn't be able to load microcode updates
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because they aren't open source" means that my CPU will be vulnerable to
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potentially critical security flaws and I have no way to work around it. This
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ends up creating a _limitation_ in how I use my computer. This is worse than the
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limitations of proprietary hardware because there is the illusion of free choice
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that the community will spout off about as the next coming of sliced bread. That
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still doesn't change the fact that my wifi card won't work without the normal
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kernel and firmware blobs.
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Combine this with other things like wifi card firmware (some wifi cards don't
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have the firmware stored on the device, they require the OS to send it firmware
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at runtime to make it work at all), and you have actually limited the agency and
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capability of users far, far more than if you just let them load the firmware in
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the first place.
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[Yes, Yes the companies made the hardware this way in the first place and are
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responsible for the problem, but telling users they are wrong for wanting it to
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work because of an implementation detail about how the hardware updates itself
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feels a lot like victim blaming. I am aware of the Talos II being a magical
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puppy and rainbow situation where all of this isn't an issue, but sadly the
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world just didn't turn out that way and we have to deal with the results of
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it.](conversation://Cadey/coffee)
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Consider a situation like wanting to play an online game together with friends,
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but through Facts and Circumstances you have an Nvidia GPU and the game is on
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Steam with no open source option. If you are using a fully open source operating
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system with no capacity to install Steam or the Nvidia drivers, you are screwed
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and thus your freedom to use your computer how you want is severely limited.
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This also extends to how those Linux distributions handle things like AWS. AWS
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is largely the poster child of a proprietary cloud hosting platform that you are
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made to work with as part of your job. Consider if something like Parabola
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GNU/Linux created AWS images and gave users a best-in-class user experience for
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using them. This would make the net cost of using a highly auditable environment
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a lot lower than the current "don't use AWS lol" (which is again really close to
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victim blaming), and would also create institutional knowledge that would let
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other people benefit from this as a second or third order effect.
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Parabola making AWS images means they can create more generic images, which
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means that other people can use those images to do whatever they want with their
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own hardware. This lets you have a net benefit to everyone in the project by
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decreasing the friction of using it, so it will in turn make users more likely
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to adopt it.
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Remember the law of halves. Every additional step in adoption costs you half
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your audience. Spinning up an AWS instance to mess around with it is a very
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low-friction operation.
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[But you can just not be a scrub and compile your own traitor kernel that lets
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you load freedom-violating binary blobs!](conversation://Numa/delet)
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[Then you have to hope your CPU is good enough to build a kernel, hope you can
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pay attention to the kernel security mailing list enough to upgrade it when you
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need to and finally hope you can upgrade the firmware blobset that the kernel
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publishes separately! Hope is not a scalable strategy.](conversation://Cadey/angy)
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If their goal is _really_ to liberate users and make it easy for them to have
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control over what their computer is doing, they should make it trivial to escape
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hatch into a less "pure" setup without having to install third party
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repositories that you just have to know about or sidestepping the upstream
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update process to install your own system software. This is more victim blaming.
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The GNU project could be more than a circlejerk around things that the toe
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cheese god said in the 80's and 90's. They could have been a source of reverse
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engineering tools, institutions and overall inspire the kind of culture that
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would make it _easy_ to understand arbitrary hardware, platforms and software
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that you either come across or are made to use as a part of your job.
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But they aren't. Instead, Guix, one of their if not their main flagship project
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for making a fully GNU system, is addled by the use of the linux-libre kernel.
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This makes the kernel fundamentally _incompatible_ with a shocking number of
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computers, thus limiting users' freedom to use Guix at all.
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[But wait, isn't there that one nonguix project that allows you to install a
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normal kernel and Steam?](conversation://Mara/hmm)
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[Yeah, but talk about that in the main #guix channel and you risk getting
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banned. GG. You just have to know that it exists and you can't learn that it
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exists without knowing someone that tells you that it exists under the table.
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This means that knowledge of the nonguix project (which may contain tools that
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make it possible to use Guix at all) is hidden from users that may need it
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because it allows users to install proprietary software. This limits user
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freedom from being able to use their computer how they want by making it a
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potentially untrustable underground software den instead of something that can
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be properly handled upstream without having to place trust in too many
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places.](conversation://Cadey/angy)
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[That hardware is defective by design and you shouldn't use
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it.](conversation://Numa/delet)
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[Wow, thanks, I'm cured. My wifi card magically stopped existing and now
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everything is happy unicorns farting put rainbows that spawn free puppies and
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everything is saved forever.<br /><br />Again, that doesn't help me with the
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situation that my wifi card doesn't work and I as a user want it to even though
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making it work will require proprietary firmware. This shit is how you get
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things like the "GPL condom" in the Purism Librem phone, where all the
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proprietary firmware is rigged to be loaded automagically in hardware instead of
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sofware. This limits your ability to tinker with or modify the firmware _even if
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there are legitimate reasons such as critical updates_. So by making the
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hardware work with fully free software you have limited the ability to actually
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improve the state of the world even with the proprietary firmware the
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manufacturer gives you.](conversation://Cadey/angy)
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[That hardware is defective by design and you shouldn't use
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it.](conversation://Numa/delet)
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[Wow, thanks, I'm cured. My wifi card magically stopped existing and now
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everything is happy unicorns farting put rainbows that spawn free puppies and
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everything is saved forever.<br /><br />Again, that doesn't help me with the
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situation that my wifi card doesn't work and I as a user want it to even though
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making it work will require proprietary firmware. This shit is how you get
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things like the "GPL condom" in the Purism Librem phone, where all the
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proprietary firmware is rigged to be loaded automagically in hardware instead of
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sofware. This limits your ability to tinker with or modify the firmware _even if
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there are legitimate reasons such as critical updates_. So by making the
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hardware work with fully free software you have limited the ability to actually
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improve the state of the world even with the proprietary firmware the
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manufacturer gives you.](conversation://Cadey/angy)
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Ubuntu gives the user more agency about how they want to use their computer than
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fully libre GNU/Linux distros ever can.
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