This is definitely a misunderstanding of how settings in the database work. No part of ARES monitors the database for updates. The only settings change that takes effect (almost) immediately is id.callsign, and even that is only evaluated when the unit speaks. It is regrettable that the db command's message contributed to the confusion, but alas there's just not enough script memory for it to learn what settings go with what programs, as ARES has hundreds of config entries and dozens of database tables (and db is basically out of memory already). Since you were reading the command reference page about interface, I'll make sure it firmly states the necessity of restarting the service.