Glenn Maynard writes: > The only reasons the LGPL is GPL-compatible are 1: the LGPL-to-GPL downgrade > clause (LGPL#3), and 2: the "operating system" exception (GPL#3), which is > irrelevant for Debian. A work under a modified GPL would lose #1, as well, > so it seems that the LGPL would be incompatible with that license--which > includes glibc, probably making it practically useless, even if DFSG-free.
Software licensed under a mutant form of the GPL would be of limited use as free software, but the LGPL (see section 6) only requires the binary form of a "work that uses the Library" to allow (a) unlimited use, (b) reverse engineering, and (c) re-linking with a different version of the Library. I do not think any program would get into non-free if it disallowed any of those three requirements. Michael Poole