DM> if it needs to stay in config.db for reasons I don't
DM> understand, perhaps config.db could look in a configurable
DM> path for a file with a timestamp and decide "oh, it's changed,
DM> I should snarf in a new one".  (Customizable welcome messages
DM> are almost always used, IMO.)

Understand what config.db is: it's a marshaled Python dictionary. The keys of the dictionary correspond to attributes on the MailList object. What happens is that when a MailList object is saved, all of it's attributes (except those that start with an underscore) are examined and their values are placed into a dictionary. That dictionary is then marshaled into config.db for the list.

Yes, I understand that, but usability would be enhanced by having *some* of that MailList object information stored outside config.db, I think is another way to say what I'm trying to say. In particular, things like welcome messages should, IMO, be "external", because they change often enough and are "tweaked" enough that it's a pain to have to extract/edit/reload just to change a comma.

A slight violation of the purity of the object storage model might be appropriate. (yet another restatement of the opinion.)