Re: [ROFL] GCC's GPLv3 "Updated License Exception"

[Kalle Olavi Niemitalo]

How is this GPLv3 + GCC Runtime Library Exception supposed to
enable distribution of binaries compiled from GPLv2-only
applications?  It is an exception to GPLv3, but I don't see how
it could excuse distributors from GPLv2 sections 1-3, which AFAIK
require source code to be be licensed under GPLv2.  There is the
operating system exception in section 3 of GPLv2, but it may not
apply to GNU/Linux distributions that include both the compiler
and the application.

The GCC Runtime Library Exception Rationale and FAQ claim:
"Nobody who is currently using GCC should be affected by this
change."  On the other hand, they do not explicitly mention
GPLv2.

The GNU C Library version 2.5.1 release announcement included a
note that the next non-bugfix version of the C Library would be
switching from LGPLv2.1-or-later to a newer LGPL version,
I presume LGPLv3 which FSF admits is incompatible with GPLv2.
That change seems to have been silently canceled, as GLIBC
versions 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, and 2.9 have since been released with the
old licence.  I get the impression that the GLIBC licence change
didn't fly with major libc funders and the FSF is now going to
smoke out GPLv2-only software via GCC instead.