I'm calling bollocks on this. It doesn't make any sense that they'd intentionally generate bad instructions rather than erroring out at compile time, and one unsubstantiated claim on a third-party mailing list doesn't make it true.

The rationale is discussed here: http://gcc.gnu.org/ml/gcc/2006-07/msg00037.html

Agreed. Malice, stupidity, don't confuse 'em :)

Agreed, but deep down, I will not be surprised if ideology trumps common sense in the world of OpenSource. It's happened often enough in online discussions (e.g. Windows vs Linux flamewars) for it to be discounted. Though I have to admit this would be the first time I will see it in action and not just in words.