[alexb_]

>the only effect of the warning is to scare people

Good. If you're not familiar with what sudo does, then you shouldn't be using it in the first place.

[teaearlgraycold]

If it’s your own computer you should be able to break it until you learn how not to.

[kibwen]

If you shouldn't be using sudo, then you shouldn't be listed as a sudoer on that system. If you're listed as a sudoer, then you should become familiar with what sudo does.

[twelve40]

i'd argue in a different direction: if sudo barks a scary unknown message at me, i'd avoid using it altogether and just use su, which is the opposite of what people should be nudged to do.

[pxeger1]

It's an abstraction. You shouldn't need to be familiar with every aspect of what it does.

[kaba0]

Are you familiar with every part of the stack you are working on, down to the hardware?

[salawat]

Yes. Largely through torturing my system and reducing it to non-bootable state and having to read up on what symbols I mangled this time and how. Why do you ask?