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Comment by throw10920 | Hacker News Reader

In addition to the other answers here: the Guix repositories only accept Free Software, even excluding things like Firefox, and intentionally make it somewhat difficult to install non-Free-Software (as opposed to Nix, where installing things like Firefox is relatively easy[1]). This may appeal to some people.

[1] https://nixos.wiki/wiki/Firefox

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Guix does not make non-free software "intentionally more difficult", it just excludes it from the main repository. There is a nonfree repo that you can add to your guix channels.

the non free repo explicitly asks you not to talk about it

https://gitlab.com/nonguix/nonguix

looks intentional to me

Well, all it says that you shouldn't promote it on the "official channels" (i.e. the mailing list and the #guix libera.chat channel). Guix, the package manager itself, does not make installing non-free packages any more difficult than free packages. I suppose it could be said that Guix (the project) makes finding non-free packages harder, although anecdotally I will say that nonguix is the first thing I've heard about guix, since it seems to be the most controversial part of it.

While it's technically correct to say that the software itself does not make it particularly difficult to install non-free packages, it also doesn't come with non-free repos when you set it up, and the documentation and official support channels intentionally lack information on non-free repos. As default settings and documentation are a critical part of a software project, it still has the end result of making it harder (much harder for non-technically-inclined users) to do so.

Non-free software is just off-topic in official channels, there is no need to interpret malicious intent into it. It is no more difficult to enable nonguix than it is to enable any other repository.

I don't think anyone was implying malice, just that there was intent. Nothing wrong with having principles.

I'm sorry, but if ask how to install Firefox and no one tells me in official channel or, worse, suggests alternative browser/fork of firefox. That's a pretty intentional way of making things hard.

I'm sure someone will tell you, perhaps privately. Everyone is quite nice there and no one is going around trying to shame people or kick them out.

Reminds me of the VHS vs Betamax war, where VHS won because Betamax (Sony) didn't allow adult videos (at least, so the legend goes).

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