mutable values to string items?

[deanhystad]

The persistence was provided by the networks_ list in the old script. Why a file now? I think the problem is that @fozz has been looking at the problem backward. The question is not "mutable values to string items?" but instead "mutable items from string values?" This question was answered well by many, but it was not enough information for a complete solution because @fozz didn't ask the real question. The real question should have mentioned plugins and getting configuration information and using this information to create a channel list like the one used in the original script. Without that context the early replies only solved how to convert a structured string into a mutable object and skipped the part about when this should be done (only once, at startup).

I certainly could be wrong.