[Mimedefang] Re: Unsafe file types

[Lee Dilkie]

>
>
> I don't think a person using a program in a normal and expected
> way should be considered a moron, and you should expect to be
> able to open your email.  The moron is the programmer that
> first decided that 'open' should mean the same thing as
> 'execute'.  Or perhaps it is the people who pay for programs
> like that who are the morons.
>
...
>
> Nobody should have a computer that hides the difference between
> opening a file, processing it as data and executing it's
> contents.  It's only a matter of luck that some people can
> keep them working.
>

Well, I think going back to DOS isn't really an option. All gui interfaces
that I know of use the same shortcut, they associate a "file" with an
application that will process the file when a users "opens" it. How the
association is done is different for different operating systems but the
same problem remains and is circumventable if someone wants it to be. This
problem is a direct result of usability and I don't see how one can easily
remove this "moronic feature" and still present a usable interface.

-lee

(as you can see, I'm at work during the day and can't participate in this
woderful discussion...)