Making Gentoo GNU/Linux libre and respect your freedom (sort of)
Gentoo GNU/Linux, though not inherently respecting user freedom by default, can be configured for a more libre experience. By setting ACCEPT_LICENSE="-* @FREE" in /etc/portage/make.conf and adding the deblob USE-flag to the kernel package, users can limit their Gentoo installation to free software, aligning more closely with the principles of the Free Software Foundation.
As explained on the GNU project’s website there are very few GNU/Linux distros which respect your freedom. One of the most common issues is that some distributions provide non-free and/or proprietary software in their main package manager. Same goes for Gentoo GNU/Linux, my favorite distribution.
However, it is still possible to make your Gentoo installation libre by configuring it a bit.
- Add
ACCEPT_LICENSE="-* @FREE"to your/etc/portage/make.conf.
This will restrict Portage to install only packages considered free in the set FREE. This set of licenses consist mostly of FSF-approved and OSI-approved licenses, in addition to some other licenses as specified by License Groups - Gentoo Wiki.
- Add the
deblobUSE-flag to the packagesys-kernel/gentoo-sources(or whatever kernel you are using).
This will strip out any binary blobs from the shipped source. I also suggest using deblob globally, as there may be more packages which ship non-free binary large objects.
These two simple steps will make (most of?) your Gentoo GNU/Linux installation free and libre. This does however not address the issue of non-free software package being encouraged by default - one of the issues that the Free Software Foundation mentions in regards to Gentoo GNU/Linux.