>I would propose a zero tolerance policy on posing executables in the forums.
And how do you propose we enforce this policy? We already disallow executable files as attachments, and that's about as unobtrusive as it gets. If you want to take it to the next level and actually solve the problem, we would end up disallowing URLs, and I don't think many of you guys would go for that. If you don't want the problem completely solved at this point, any extra steps are just make-work for the moderators. So how far do you want to take this "we're banning executables for your own good" policy?
>Because they have nothing to do with learning programming
PFO isn't just about learning programming.
>and they are dangerous
They can be dangerous if malicious code is contained therein and someone runs the malicious code. That's no different from a source file that contains malicious code and someone runs it, in terms of danger. Don't even try to tell me that a guy who downloads and runs executables should be expected to know how to spot malicious code in a source file.
Personally, I don't see your proposal as a complete solution. In fact, I don't see your proposal as beneficial in any way at all. Ultimately, it's overly harsh for members, too difficult to implement successfully, and really buys us nothing. A much better solution is to leave things as they are and let the community police itself.