The Dumbest Bug Ever!

[yawns]

I'm sorry pal, but Ubuntu will let you replace a folder with a file if the file does not reside inside that same folder. So the user's choice is respected. The only situation when you are not given the possibility to do this is the one described by the OP and shown by my previous post.

I don't think Apple is getting it right. The warning given by finder does not say that both files will be deleted.

Getting it right is doing what the user wants or not doing anything at all.

Intelligent people should know this...

Before anyone complains that it doesn't matter how everything else on earth does it

Finder in Snow Leopard responds the same way. How about that "red herring?" Did the Lion developers make a conscious, malicious decision to destroy user data by removing standard, universal functionality that adheres to the file system's expected behavior? Or is this a bug? The behavior changed from the previous version, so these are your only two options to explain why this happens.

 

[phyrexia]

I thought I was a semantic- arguing bastard, but some of you posters really put me to shame. I cannot believe how obtuse some of you are.

 

[fat jez]

Before anyone complains that it doesn't matter how everything else on earth does it

Finder in Snow Leopard responds the same way. How about that "red herring?" Did the Lion developers make a conscious, malicious decision to destroy user data by removing standard, universal functionality that adheres to the file system's expected behavior? Or is this a bug? The behavior changed from the previous version, so these are your only two options to explain why this happens.

I think Lion was the first release that allowed you to merge directories, so I expect this is when the change occurred to the logic

 

[KnightWRX]

Finder in Snow Leopard responds the same way. How about that "red herring?" Did the Lion developers make a conscious, malicious decision to destroy user data by removing standard, universal functionality that adheres to the file system's expected behavior? Or is this a bug? The behavior changed from the previous version, so these are your only two options to explain why this happens.

It's probably a bug with the new Merge Directories and Keep Both Files feature introduced in Lion :

http://www.apple.com/ca/macosx/whats-new/features.html#finder

Keep both files

When you attempt to add a file to a folder that contains a file of the same name, the Finder now offers to keep both files, appending the word “copy” to the name of the new file.

Merge folders

When you try to combine two folders with the same name, the Finder now offers to merge them into a single folder.

It's a simple case of a missing condition for a rare occurence (rarely will anyone have a file in a folder named the same and try to drag it "out" and then actually choose "Replace"). So yes, it's a bug that's new to Lion.

OP, did you report this to Apple ? http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html