Re: "Microsoft will stop at nothing to pervert what it touches."
To separate configuration *data* from *code*. The latter, if well-written, should not change, or should not change often. Code can be supplied by a third party.
You make your own decisions about config data, and may want to change it more frequently. The code re-reads your updated config data.
Too many systems mash these two together, which means an attempt to modify config data risks breaking code that was working perfectly well and did not need to change.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
