rm -rf / is a completely software operation. It should completely wipe your system. It should not render your hardware inoperable. I don't expect or want it to wipe my BIOS or GPU firmware or NIC firmware or any other hardware component that happens to be attached at that time that has an EEPROM or otherwise reprogrammable microcontroller. That's insane.
"rm -rf / is a completely software operation. It should completely wipe your system."
To me saying it should completely wipe your system implies that people sometimes type it on purpose fully expecting it to do what it does. Is that actually true? If not, I think there's something askew with your worldview.
