DIGIT-ARC read-only archive · snapshot: July 23, 2026

And They Said the Mac Was Intuitive

7 posts · originally from https://geek.digit.in/community/threads/and-they-said-the-mac-was-intuitive.54805/

M
mehulved Original post #1
Apr 11, 2007 at 11:35 PM
Well, it definitely isn’t in one regard. I was able to delete my usr (Unix) folder. Yes, my usr folder. How did this happen? Well, one of the programs I installed caused this lovely little Unix hidden folder to become exposed. Knowing that I already have a Users folder and the multiple Library folder(s), it seemed reasonable to delete it.

WRONG.
Read on *www.applematters.com/index.php/section/comments/and-they-said-the-mac-was-intuitive/

And please no flame wars this isn't in Fight Club.
mediator
Apr 11, 2007 at 11:46 PM
I found plenty like this in the past. But dint post coz I don't have experience with Mac and dint want to create a flame war unnecessarily!
mail2and
Apr 12, 2007 at 12:02 AM
A comment on the site:

You are blaming the Mac OS for a bug in NO-IP.com’s application and your own ignorance using Cocktail.
That’s like saying “Hey, I typed ‘rm -rf’ in the terminal and now my Mac won’t boot. Mac OS X sucks.”
FatBeing
Apr 12, 2007 at 1:03 PM
As they say, find me an idiot-proof concept and I'll find you a new breed of idiot.
mail2and
Apr 12, 2007 at 2:14 PM
Indyan said:
Well, its not really Mac's fault. It was a bug in the apllication which exposed the /usr folder. I suppose Apple thought that there isnt any need to add more protection as the usr folder is normally hidden, and those who manage to uncover it would know better than to delete it.

The person deleted it using an application called Cocktail(a maintenance application). This application asks for admin privileges before running. So, the guy used an application to delete a protected folder.

That's why the other guy posted the 'rm -rf' comment.
nepcker
nepcker #6
Apr 12, 2007 at 2:36 PM
All from the page's comments:
This is idiotic. He uses an expert tool (from a third party!) that he doen’t know how to use, and when he makes an error, he complains that it’s the fault of the platform and the default interface, and that this is a trap for the unwary novice.

The argument is nonsense. A novice user would not use Cocktail in the first place, nor would a novice even think of un-hiding and trashing hidden system folders.

The default interface is fine. Why do you think the /usr directory is hidden in the first place? Precisely so that novice users don’t delete it by accident.

When you use a tool like Cocktail, you’re voluntarily throwing off the restrictions of the factory-standard UI in order to do what you will and run your own risks. If you don’t have the knowledge to use the tool safely, you have no one but yourself to blame.

He is blaming the Mac OS for a bug in NO-IP.com’s application and his own ignorance using Cocktail.

That’s like saying "Hey, I typed rm -rf in the terminal and now my Mac won’t boot. Mac OS X sucks."
eddie
eddie #7
Apr 13, 2007 at 3:38 AM
Yay!!! Another one joins the club.
I am one of those rare idiots who accidentally destroyed their system by passing a rm -Rf on / but now I have company :D