broil, then allow to rest

1 - I started learning by ripping apart the Lotus templates, which make extensive use of keywords. I quickly gave up on them in my own applications, for the reasons you hint at.

2 - I use them sparingly. My main use is when the UI requires a long value for a selection, like a radio button. So I might have choices that look like this:

I would like to receive product info | Y
Please do not send me any info | N

If possible, I also try not to use them if I know the data will be displayed in views for the reasons you mention. Obviously, sometimes you can't help it.

3 - Having identified myself strongly as an admin elsewhere today, this feels like betrayal.

But every good admin needs to know how to script a workaround sometimes. And in those workarounds, I use keyword aliases RELIGIOUSLY.

Why?

Because sometimes, the UI changes. But aliases mean my old documents don't have to.
It just happens sometimes - someone wants a question reversed in its emphasis, and being able to change the text of the selection without the value stored is quite handy. It's a bit annoying then having to change views as well, yes - but better than modifying existing documents!

4 - I use aliases a lot, but not always for every item in a list. Often, I will make the first item in a list be something like "- None Selected -|" so that when you are viewing the form, you know nothing is selected, but the back-end field is empty. I also use them for fields that correspond to values that are often sorted in views, like priority or status. There is a trade off with aliases, like having to use @Replace in views, but they often are helpful for shortening long values.

Sean---