Comment 20 for bug 174283

On Mon, Apr 13, 2009 at 23:25, Andrew Hohenstein <email address hidden> wrote:
> 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.

How do you define that philosophy, then? I don't understand what you mean.

> 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.

It's hard for me to see how implementing this fix/feature would deter
anyone from using Ubuntu. :) To me it's not a security feature at
all; it's more akin to the safeguards in place to prevent accidental
launch of nuclear weapons. How would it be destructive to Ubuntu's
reason for existence? I don't understand what you mean.

> 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.

There are many things that people, even good people, should do, but
don't. Is "they deserve what they get" the kind of attitude Ubuntu
wants to project? Is that even how we should treat other people? I
don't understand what your goal is with Ubuntu. What you're calling
for sounds more like it belongs in a distro like...Slackware? Gentoo?
 Please explain what you're trying to achieve here. :)

> 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.

I've read some horror stories; they aren't hard to find online. I am
a very careful driver, with a clean record, but just the other day a
fellow and I backed into each other in the parking lot. No one is
perfect; mistakes happen to the best of us. Thankfully the damage was
minor, and both of us were kind and understanding towards the other.
To me, that is the kind of attitude Ubuntu is about.

> 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.

Who are these inexperienced-yet-diligent users of which you speak? :)