Comment 27 for bug 201711

> I already tried setting "option hid pb_fnmode=2" in both /etc/modprobe.conf
> as well as /etc/modprobe.d/options - neither had any effect on a reboot.

Raphael, you're doing it correctly.
You must add "option hid pb_fnmode=2" in /etc/modprobe.d/options.
AND you must regenerate your initrd image with the command "update-initramfs -u"

> Seriously, when working with a highly customizable system such as linux,
> shouldn't we be able to tell any key on any keyboard to do anything we want?
> If i want my spacebar to act as my F3 key, I should be able to do that (not that I want to).

Linux is not meant to be a highly customizable system, it is meant to be a great OS!
But it is indeed customizable if you consider that you have the source code in your hands.
If you hate one particular thing, like the lack of a spacebar mapping to your F3 key,
you can always rewrite the keymaps (like I indeed do to change the place of my
interrogation sign key), and you can even reprogram some functions in the
programs that you use the most.

But, that's not the main topic of this BUG entry, so let's continue it in the ubuntuforums.
We can discuss a lot there!