>Couldn't a graphical method of executing 'rm -rf' also allow accidental >deletion?
You could certainly design a GUI so that it was just as easy (a bad design), and people seem capable of out-idioting any idiot-proof measure. But let's face it, accidentally typing rm -rf /lib/* and hitting enter (when what was intended may have been something like rm -rf /lib/*.xxx) is a *lot* easier than openning a window on /lib, selecting every item in the directory, dragging them all to the trash, and then emptying the trash, all by accident.
