> Not every user knows it is safe to open the programs in the control panel (maybe it’ll change something if I run it!)

That's why old Windows versions had Cancel buttons in every configuration window.

Double clicking on an icon in windows does one of 3 things:

- opens a folder

- opens a document

- executes a program

I think it is reasonable for a user to assume those icons in the control panel are programs and worry whether they’ll open a dialogue with an “okay” and “cancel” option or just do something.

We have the same problem on the command line. We can reasonably assume that `config-program -—help` won’t execute anything, but we don’t know until we try. However, we are assured that `man config-program` won’t execute anything.

The sidebar brings intermediate users closer to assurance and helps novice users understand where they are.

At least that’s how I see it as a good UX addition to windows. I wouldn’t be surprised if most scared users wouldn’t even look at the sidebar.

Programs meant to be ran by doube-clicking (rather than invoked as a command) generally are not meant to do anything until the user commands them to by clicking something else in their window. An application launching is meant to be kind of a "pure function", a side-effect-free operation (of popping up the app Window) from the user point of view.

If you design an app which writes anything into a document file as soon as you open the document in them you are doing it really wrong.

This given, the confusion you describe comes straight from lack of awareness of the UI metaphor logic in the software engineers. A well-designed GUI app (a non-GUI app should not be executed by double-clicking at all) would do virtually nothing to leave any traces (let alone break anything) right after you run them, by just launching them or "launching" any specific document to be opened in them.

But I get your point. From the practical point of view - given the reality, what we actually have, you are perfectly right.