But an app written on top of MySQL, even though it connects over the wire and a JDBC driver, has to be GPL – why, simply because MySQL decreed it so; they did i

But an app written on top of MySQL, even though it connects over the wire and a JDBC driver, has to be GPL – why, simply because MySQL decreed it so; they did it because it would make it commercially convenient for them. So says the internal email. I don't usually see this much confusion packed into such a small space.