The .conf files are text files. I’ve never said otherwise.
However, the .conf files are not simply a list of variables and their respective parameters. They are not merely configuration files. Some of the .conf files contain a list of ordered instructions telling Asterisk how to behave when it receives a given input. In fact, the bulk of what makes Asterisk work is those ordered instructions. An ordered list of instructions telling a computer how to behave when it receives a given input is a computer program, and not a configuration file.
When I suggest that FreePBX should simplify the UI so that it contains a list of fields and values so that configuration for new users is easier, responding that a user desiring that simple experience should just use Asterisk and its .conf files is an inappropriate response. Using Asterisk’s .conf files would require the new user to do much more than filling in values. It would require the new user to learn Asterisk’s internal programming language and to learn how to build dialplans. It would also require that same user to learn database programming so as to integrate Asterisk with maria db or mysql.
The whole point of FreePBX is to have a simple UI that allows the user to enter the salient details, and to then have FreePBX do the difficult work of configuring Asterisk and writing out the conf files.