Reading the Wiki, it sounds a lot like stability *is *the goal of an LTS. >From the Ubuntu Wiki(I've added the red for emphasis):
Release Plan Details > > 1. > > We are more conservative in our package merge with Debian, > auto-synching with Debian *testing*, instead of Debian unstable. > 2. We start stabilizing the release early by significantly limiting the > number of new features. We will choose which features we package into the > LTS release, versus which ones we leave out and allow for users to > optionally download and use from a separate archive. > 3. > > Avoid structural changes as far as possible, such as changing the > default set of applications, lots of library transitions, or system layer > changes (example: introducing KMS or hal → > DeviceKit<https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DeviceKit>would not have been appropriate > changes in a LTS). > > Furthermore, we define the LTS to be: > > - > > *Enterprise Focused:* We are targeting server and multiple desktop > installations, where the average user is moderately risk averse. > - > > *Compatible with New Hardware:* We will make point releases throughout > the development cycle to provide functional support for new server and > desktop hardware. > - > > *More Tested:* We will shorten the development window and extend the > Beta cycle to allow for more testing and bug fixing > > and clearly state that it is *not*: > > - > > *A Feature-Based Release:* We will focus on hardening functionality of > existing features, versus introducing new ones*1*, except for in the > areas of Online Services and Desktop Experience*2*. > - > > *1.* Exceptions for priority projects will be documented, with > Feature Freeze coinciding with the Beta1 Freeze date > *2.* Because these two areas of development are relatively new, they > still require new features to satisfy the original reasons for their > creation > - > > *Cutting Edge:* Instead of doing an automatic full package import from > Debian unstable, we will do it from Debian *testing1*. The benefit we > gain from not introducing new bugs and/or regressions outweighs the new > features and/or fixes we often get from unstable. > - > > *1.* We reserve the right to *selectively* pull in updates from > unstable, if we believe the stability of the package in Debian is better > than what is in the current Ubuntu archive. > > To support our goal of ensuring stability, we plan to make a small number > of changes to the release schedule: > > 1. > > *Reduced Alpha Stage:* Because we will have substantially less new > code, we can reduce the number of Alpha releases, and extend the Beta stage > to allow for more system testing. > 2. > > *Two Beta Releases:* We generally get more bugs filed in the Beta stage > because of the increase in user base. In order to address more of these > issues, we will provide an additional Beta release. > >
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