That proposed "fix" on the wiki really appears to be a work-around.
I do not agree with your definition of "fix" and "workaround". For me:
Fix: something that removes the issue.
More important is that we should only use an optimized data structure when required.
I happened to have a gcc43 on my machine and tried - using the same setting which created the error - to compile an aqua version. Produced a load of warnings, but went through and left me back with a working inkscape. - I'll do another test with the X11 version, when the ncursesw problem is fixed.
As far as I understood the whole thing, the basic problem is a bug in Apple's gcc4.0.1. Wouldn't it be the smartest fix to switch over to a more recent compiler - which may bare some more advantages (such as improved AltiVec and multiprocessor support)?
I do have a macports gcc43 and a gcc44 now on my G4/Tiger - which took many hours to compile… If somebody would push my nose onto a dummy proof set of instructions, I'd be happy to make .pkgs of both and provide them - and we could get rid of outdated 4.0.1.
One step further could be to make a package of Apple's command line developer tools (and what else is required from the Xcode tools), provide that separately and get independent from Xcode tools - most of which is not required for inkscape anyways.
Yours, Wolf