In Linux, a task that tries to allocate more than the allowed amount will be immediately terminated and not notified about anything. The reason out-of-memory systems thrash is merely because people do not always bother setting the limits, and the default assumes users prefer a process that continues through hours of thrashing instead of being promptly terminated.
Who is "people" in this? If you mean your average user, it's unrealistic to expect them to know or care about details like this. This is the kind of thing that needs sane defaults.
