MySQL servers requiring clients be GPL

I thought the *client* libraries moved from LGPL to GPL, and that is the cause of the shakedown. Saying this is because of "sending SQL statements to a MySQL server" sounds a little off, or at least subject to mis-interpretation.

I suppose in theory you could do that with a completely rewritten client side.

The usual short term solution is to switch to (the currrently plug-compatible) MariaDB. In the long term, however, that won't wash. Maria is not a solution; Monty Widenius and co are sure to do exactly the same LGPL-to-GPL bait-and-switch that they pulled with MySQL.

Friends don't let friends use projects that mandate copyright assignment (even if it is non-exclusive) to a for-profit entity.