[mikegerwitz]

For more information, see the GNU Coding Standards:

https://www.gnu.org/prep/standards/standards.html#References

In particular:

> A GNU program should not recommend, promote, or grant legitimacy to the use of any non-free program. Proprietary software is a social and ethical problem, and our aim is to put an end to that problem. We can’t stop some people from writing proprietary programs, or stop other people from using them, but we can and should refuse to advertise them to new potential customers, or to give the public the idea that their existence is ethical.

Excluding material isn't censorship---GNU stands by its principles. You wouldn't expect a vegan organization to advertise means of obtaining meat, for example.

[rekado]

I'd like to add that using proprietary software is not an act that deserves condemnation, it's not a moral failing or something like that. The GNU project opposes proprietary software as it is considered a social and ethical problem. Although I advise against it, you are free to use proprietary software for whatever reason (including possibly ethical or financial reasons) --- there are no mechanisms in place to prevent you from doing that in Guix (and the fact that Linux libre cannot load certain user-supplied firmware is a bug).

As a project, however, we do not recommend the use of proprietary software and don't provide a platform for advice on how to replace free parts of Guix with non-free software.

The use of proprietary software becomes an ethical problem when network effects are in place. Otherwise, it is the mechanisms of proprietary software itself that we object to, for example the barriers it poses to helping friends or neighbours and the way it gives developers control over the users.