>Config files should absolutely not have or need comments.
Well, that's like your opinion, man.
If I have something set to some value in my configuration, I want those reading the configuration file (not parsing it, reading it in a text editor, e.g. to make an edit) to know why it's so.
>Applications should document their default settings in a different way
Comments in configuration files are not there to explain default settings, but to document why a setting (default or not, but usually already edit to suit your specific environment) has the value you set it to.
>Information about why a file contains those values belongs elsewhere, and it's an anti-pattern IMO to rely on comments in the config / param file.
That's a statement, not an argument. Why does it "belong elsewhere"? So that you have an extra layer, that few will bother to check?
Well, that's like your opinion, man.
If I have something set to some value in my configuration, I want those reading the configuration file (not parsing it, reading it in a text editor, e.g. to make an edit) to know why it's so.
>Applications should document their default settings in a different way
Comments in configuration files are not there to explain default settings, but to document why a setting (default or not, but usually already edit to suit your specific environment) has the value you set it to.
>Information about why a file contains those values belongs elsewhere, and it's an anti-pattern IMO to rely on comments in the config / param file.
That's a statement, not an argument. Why does it "belong elsewhere"? So that you have an extra layer, that few will bother to check?