@rdr When I say something is proprietary, it is - you think I would make be mistaken about such an important topic?

Here's three examples of proprietary software in Linux:
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/drivers/net/appletalk/cops_ffdrv.h
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/drivers/net/appletalk/cops_ltdrv.h
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/arch/powerpc/platforms/8xx/micropatch.c

There's also plenty more mind you.

Just like how you throw poison into a well it gets poisoned until the poison is removed, if you throw proprietary malware into a kernel, the entire thing becomes proprietary malware until the malware is removed.


How there's a bunch of drivers where ¼ of the driver is in Linux and the other ¾ is in loadable, proprietary firmware is a different topic entirely.