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#26 Re: Devuan » contrib and non-free repositories should be disabled by default » 2018-04-10 04:38:07
Hello, msi.
Thank you for your clarification.
Indeed, like you say, in the two latest versions of Debian this doesn't happen. While, in the two versions of Devuan it happens. And, this is why I didn't believe it to be a "bug". Since that,
1) if it was, I would expect the same thing not to happen in the second version. And,
2) if what Devuan does is to only get rid of systemd and its dependencies, I really cannot see why would the developers mess around with the "sources.list" file.
And, this last point is a most pertinent one, to me...
The original Debian code didn't activate the other repositories. So, this is something that was added by Devuan's developers.
And, I cannot see why would someone, in the middle of the process of getting rid of systemd, would need to mess with (i.e. activate some of) the repositories used in the installation.
I really cannot see this as being the result of an "accident". And, can only conceive it as the result of deliberate choice.
(This last one being the main reason why I didn't believe it to be a "bug"...)
#27 Re: Devuan » contrib and non-free repositories should be disabled by default » 2018-04-09 05:50:52
Yes. And, I would get error messages at boot - again, related to my graphics card. Devuan 2 (beta) is not yet as functional as Debian 9 proper.
Also, Devuan 2 came also with other repositories than "main" activated. And, (for reason no. 1 that I stated on my first post) I don't want to have such an OS installed on my computer.
#28 Re: Devuan » contrib and non-free repositories should be disabled by default » 2018-04-09 00:09:36
Hello, msi.
You're probably mixing the information on my first/original post together with the one on the first comment to it (by Panopticon)... I'm not talking about any kind of "bug".
When I say that, after a fresh installation of Devuan, I can see that the "non-free" and "contrib" repositories are activated, I'm talking about a normal installation (not one done in the expert mode). That is, one in which the user is not even able to choose what repositories s/he wants to activate. And, to be more precise, the way I installed Devuan (Jessie) was through a regular "Net Install".
Unfortunately, because I can't get 3D acceleration to work in my graphics card in Jessie (either in Devuan's or Debian's) I was forced to install Debian 9 Stretch again on my computer (and am now waiting for Devuan's next stable release). Therefore, I can't copy now what I saw on my "sources.list" file.
But, what I mention is surely something that anyone who has installed Devuan on his/her computer can see for him/herself.
#29 Devuan » contrib and non-free repositories should be disabled by default » 2018-04-08 08:59:20
- Fernando Negro
- Replies: 33
Hi, everyone.
Congratulations (and thank you) to all the people involved in Devuan - for your Independence of Thought, and strong adherence to Freedom and diversity ideals. This is truly a great project.
I have only one criticism to make.
Upon installing Devuan, I noticed that (unlike with my fresh Debian installations) the "contrib" and "non-free" repositories are enabled by default. Which is something that I really disagree with. Because, by having such repositories (that depend on, or contain, non-Free Software) enabled, two things can happen.
1) It leaves the end user doubting if only Free Software has been installed on his/her system, after a fresh installation.
2) By having such repositories enabled by default,
a) a more ignorant user might install proprietary software without being aware of such, and
b) even someone who knows what these repositories are, might inadvertently install such proprietary software, either directly or indirectly because of dependencies.
Proprietary software (of which we don't know the source code of) is always a potential security risk. And, the use of such software is also contrary to the principles upon which GNU/Linux was founded. So, the installation of this type of software should always be unencouraged, and only made possible for those who really know what they're doing.
Debian, by default, has these repositories "disabled" (actually, it's not even possible to access them, unless you create entries for them yourself). And, if someone really wants (/needs) to install such type of software, s/he can always find instructions on how to do it on Debian's Wiki pages.
This should also be Devuan's policy. Since that, Devuan distinguishes itself from other GNU/Linux distributions for wanting to be more faithful to the principles upon which GNU/Linux itself was created. And, one of the underlying reasons for concern with the violation of such principles for some of the people who are attracted to Devuan, I believe, is the security risks that are created when we diverge from such principles.
Please, don't make this another Ubuntu-like distribution. One of the reasons why I left Ubuntu for Debian, was exactly the fact that Ubuntu, by default, has all sorts of proprietary programs ready to be installed, if one happens to make the wrong click.
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