> Those case differences have meaning, -r is generally not dangerous while -R is; it's capitalized to make you stop and say hmmm, should I do this. All commands have the same flag language
Except with cp , -R is the safe one and -r is the dangerous one. And there are tons of little inconsistencies like this.
It may be more consistent, but is not easier - humans are generous with regard to input, they can infer intentions from context. I could type in "please unbork this" to a human and he'd know precisely that he has to a) untargzip it, b) change the directory structure and c) upload it to a shared directory for our team.
Welcome to working with computers that can't think; easier is not an option, they can't infer your intentions, so your point is what? Consistency is what matters when working with machines and the command line is a damn consistent language relative to other available options.
Except with cp , -R is the safe one and -r is the dangerous one. And there are tons of little inconsistencies like this.