Locking SQL_MODE against client changes

[Bartosz Bednarowicz]

I'm pushing for use of MySQL where RDMS choices are considered. The sole argument against it is the possibility for clients to set a connection's SQL_mode regardless of the server-side setting.

What are the possibilities of eliminating this problem apart from setting up a MySQL Proxy filtering out sql_mode changes? I try to avoid Proxy since it doesn't support SSL connections, which in turn would force devs (and sysadmins) to use ssh accounts to talk to the server securely.