Re: FSF continuously harms Free Hardware

[Leah Rowe]

Hi Richard,

On Mon, 24 Jan 2022 23:16:52 -0500
Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org> wrote:

> [[[ To any NSA and FBI agents reading my email: please consider    ]]]
> [[[ whether defending the US Constitution against all enemies,     ]]]
> [[[ foreign or domestic, requires you to follow Snowden's example. ]]]
> 
>   > In fact, access to schematics, boardviews, datasheets and any
>   > other documentation is *critical* to software freedom.
> 
> I didn't realize that circuit diagrams were important for developing
> free replacement code -- I expected that documentation would take care
> of that job, or else reverse engineering of nonfree software.
> 
> So you've convinced me on this point.

If you want companies to care about freedom, you've got to start with
hardware. I say this, because hardware really is no different than
software. In both cases, it's something that companies consider as
*their property*, but there was once a better time when the culture of
repair was much stronger. The "make do and mend" mentality was once
dominant in electronics, and engineering in general.

It's only in the last 40 years that things have gone down-hill. In the
70s, you could open up your electronics and there would be schematics
showing you how everything was put together. It's possible that
you could send in a device for repair, but you could do it yourself
too. Your neighbour Jimmy could do it for you. This is no longer the
case.

The mentality that makes someone care about *repair* is the same
mentality that cases someone to care about free softwrae. Software and
hardware are two sides of a coin.

I do think that you and the FSF should pursue this more rigorously. I'm
surprised that you haven't done so to such an extent, especially since
you have Gerald Sussman on your board of directors, who if I'm not
mistaken is head of electronics at MIT.

> 
> However, it would be confusing to use the term "free hardware" to mean
> that the hardware comes with documentation.  What if it comes with a
> schematic which has no license and therefore is not free?  Is that
> "free hardware"?

True freedom means you have the gerber files and verilog so that you
can make your own board, plus chips.

However, freedom comes at different levels. I would say yes, you do
have some freedoms even if the schematics are available but non-free.
In many cases, manufacturers make such documentation *redistributable*
even if modification is not allowed.

However, even in such cases, there's no way they can stop you from
modifying the circuit board, and you do have a lot of freedoms there.
Even if you only have datasheets for the ICs, or even no datasheets,
you have a lot of freedom potentially.

> 
> The problem is that, different purposes lead to different ideas
> of what "free" should concretely mean.
>
> When you say "schematics", which ones do you mean?
> For boards?  For the inside of chips?
> 

I gave you my definition of free hardware, in my previous post on this
thread.

>   > > Free hardware designs are desirable, and may be necessary in a
>   > > possible distant future, but not very soon.
> 
>   > On the contrary, free hardware is possible *now*.
>   >  See: RISCV and SiFive.
> 
> It's not contrary.  You changed to a different question.  That
> statement of yours may be true (depending on what one means by "free
> hardware"); what I said is also true.
> 
> You're pushing for hyperbroad generalizations, while I am making
> careful distinctions.

Well, you said that free hardware designs are necessary in a "distant
future", and I strongly disagree with that. I think we should be
pushing for it *now*. We already have efforts underway, so why stop?

Why invent limitations for yourself? I say we should apply ourselves
instead, and that's exactly what some of us are doing.

When it does come "necessary" in the future, you must know: building
hardware takes time. Would you not rather we be ready now, for when
that day comes?

(to be clear, I think that day is now. I think we need free hardware
now. we deserve it, for the same reason we deserve free software)

-- 
Think for yourself. Live free!

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