Comment 19 for bug 174283

I'm not trying to preserve the 'philosophy of *nix,' I'm trying to preserve the functionality of the rm -fr command. I mention the 'philosophy' only to point out it's wisdom.

My point is that setting a precedent of implementing security features that are already proven ineffective is destructive to the whole reason Ubuntu exists as an alternative to Windows. Adapting the same failed methods just blurs the distinction, compromises security, and deters users.

There are already other blocks (proven more effective) in place for this command (sudo (already requiring a password), the -f switch, etc) that more inexperienced users shouldn't be using, or should be uncomfortable enough with them not to use them all the time anyway, and anyone experienced enough to use them should know when not use them, as well as proofread their scripts every time and develop habits that don't invite the opportunity for a type-o to delete a partition.

That being said, over the years the number of times I've accidentally run 'rm -fr /' successfully is zero, and I haven't found anyone I know that has either. I would imagine the relative number of experienced users affected by accidental invocation of a 'sudo rm -fr /' command is pretty low.

Even if I were to do it myself, it wouldn't be all that detrimental to me as I do daily backup which, by the way, is also a good habit that even inexperienced users develop pretty quick.