[coreboot] Proposal: "Freedom level" field for boards supported by coreboot

[Peter Stuge]

I would also like to establish a classification. Thank you for making
a concrete suggestion.

Julius Werner wrote:
> So as a quick brainstorming, I'd rather suggest a ranking roughly like
> this to fairly reflect the risk the user is exposed to:
> 
> A. Everything free.
> B. Non-essential component (e.g. GPS sensor) requiring proprietary firmware.
> C. Network component (e.g. WiFi) requiring proprietary firmware if it
> can be bypassed (e.g. USB, expansion card).
> D. Input/output-sniffing component (pointing device, keyboard,
> display, audio) requiring proprietary firmware if it can be bypassed,
> or CPU requiring microcode if it can be bypassed (e.g. just using
> factory ROM code).
> E. CPU or equivalently privileged processor requiring non-resident
> proprietary boot firmware.
> F. Network component requiring proprietary firmware that cannot be
> bypassed (e.g. no USB ports).
> G. Input/output-sniffing component requiring proprietary firmware that
> cannot be bypassed, or CPU requiring microcode that cannot be
> bypassed.
> H. CPU or equivalently privileged processor requiring resident
> proprietary firmware (e.g. Intel ME, Qualcomm TrustZone).


I like this a lot.


A few points:

The name should communicate "end-user ownership".

Well-established software terminology (like "open", "free" and "libre")
is too niche to be helpful in a store.


Higher score meaning lower "end-user ownership" seems counter-intuitive.


It's important to keep classification simple.

The EU has an energy consumption label. They started with {A,B,C,D}
in 1992 and had to introduce A{+,++,+++} later, as technology improved.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union_energy_label

We should re-use those classes, and learn from that project.


I think the malus-contributing components in a system could be broken
down into a small number, and could also be displayed using pictograms.
(Here, even a distinction between Wi-Fi and Ethernet is problematic.)


Finally, please consider how successful a classification will be if
every single product on the market except one gets a failing grade.


//Peter