...be glad your version doesn't do this.

[gwyn at BRL-VLD.ARPA]

From:      Doug Gwyn (VLD/VMB) <gwyn at BRL-VLD.ARPA>

The dialogue about "rm *" that you cited was in fact used as an
example of problems with naive interfaces of this type.  The discussion
in the original CACM article was reasonable.  Quoting such a thing out
of context is not, since it gives the impression that the article's
authors were pretty stupid.

P.S. I am posting this rather than mailing to the author since the
MIT mailer appears to be totally brain-damaged; at least, I can't
find a reasonable return Internet address in his message.