Why aren't .NET “application settings” stored in the registry?

Question

Some time back in the nineties, Microsoft introduced the Windows Registry. Applications could store settings in different hives. There were hives for application-wide and us

Answer 1

It seems to me that the registry is one of those things that "seemed like a good idea at the time" - for all the many reasons already listed by others. There is nothing wrong with realizing that something was not such a great idea after all, and instead using an alternative that is simpler and more convenient, even if it may seem like a step backwards in certain ways.