Sam Darwin via Mailman-users writes:
Well, for more background info I am not suggesting this purely whimsically,
That's not what I don't understand.
I don't understand why you are confused. Specifically, cascading context-depended defaults of this kind are commonly used in system administration and software configuration. They're pervasive in Mailman, and have been for years. People have been coping with the context-dependent use of the word "default" in this way for many years. Why is it now a problem? I don't understand. That could be just me, but your explanations don't help me understand yet.
Further, if you look at the list-level configuration for that option, it will be called "list default", and similarly for the documentation of "default processing". We'd need to at least think about making those consistent with your proposal, including in the documentation. And that's on top of the translator issue.
-- GNU Mailman consultant (installation, migration, customization) Sirius Open Source https://www.siriusopensource.com/ Software systems consulting in Europe, North America, and Japan