Comment 18 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.