While I do prefer text configuration over guis, I had two thoughts that kind of run counter to his point:
1) There's nothing inherent about guis that prevents them from having a space for comments. Perhaps gui designers should consider leaving spots for comments in complex config situations.
2) A lot of the comments I see in config files are little notes about what this or that setting actually does... comments that are generally not needed in a well designed gui. But then again, I am not a sysadmin. YYMV.
Comments in configuration files are approximately equivalent to those "tooltip" things GUIs sometimes have. I think comments are a much better method though since GUIs often seem to be missing their equivalent and even when present, it's a pain in the ass to use.
1) There's nothing inherent about guis that prevents them from having a space for comments. Perhaps gui designers should consider leaving spots for comments in complex config situations.
2) A lot of the comments I see in config files are little notes about what this or that setting actually does... comments that are generally not needed in a well designed gui. But then again, I am not a sysadmin. YYMV.