If I bring up the file property window and press the "Recursive" button, xffm spawns a chmod command in the background with an octal mode argument. All files and subdirectories are chmod'd identically. This is usually the wrong thing to do because the user is looking at the property of a directory, so all files would become executable (because a directory is useless unless it is also executable). If the user pressed the Recursive button when the property window for his/her home directory is shown, xffm would quickly screw up the permissions of lots of files and directories (e.g., ~/.netrc, ~/.ssh, ~/.gnupg, etc.). Also, there is no warning or explanation for the Recursive button. This does not seem to be reasonable for a button that can have such serious consequences.
recursive button and function has been removed until we figure out a better solution.