Compiz Configuration changes transient, create unstable compiz

[Cefn]

I've launched CompizConfigSettingsManager to try and activate certain plugins. However, it seems to be radically unstable and non-functional compared to my previous experiences of the tool. For example...

Selecting the checkbox "Application Switcher" causes the plugin to activate, but sometimes causes Compiz to crash. On closing and relaunching CCSM, "Application Switcher" is no longer shown as selected, even when it was previously active. This has the effect of deactivating it anytime you edit something in CCSM. State doesn't seem to be being saved between CCSM sessions.

Activating D-Bus and Command (to try and use the command-line invocation of Scale window grouping) causes Compiz to crash, and the compiz window manager will then not restart, (even after a reboot), without removing the .config/compiz-1 folder to create a fresh configuration.

I've been trying to create a window-switching environment a bit like Unity. In particular I need to be able to view windows from a "window group" in a similar way to the Unity Application Switcher (which switches window groups first, then expands to show the individual windows in that group).

So far I've been unable to really explore this option because of the sheer number of bugs in the plugins or configuration system, even when there are so many different strategies which could in principle achieve it.

I'm using a build installed from Lubuntu 13.04 Beta 2

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 13.04
Package: compizconfig-settings-manager 1:0.9.9~daily13.04.10-0ubuntu1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.8.0-18.28-generic 3.8.6
Uname: Linux 3.8.0-18-generic i686
ApportVersion: 2.9.2-0ubuntu8
Architecture: i386
CompizPlugins: No value set for `/apps/compiz-1/general/screen0/options/active_plugins'
Date: Sat Apr 13 23:36:58 2013
MarkForUpload: True
PackageArchitecture: all
ProcEnviron:
 LANGUAGE=en_GB:en
 TERM=xterm
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 LANG=en_GB.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: compiz
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Cefn (6-launchpad-net-cefn-com)]

I found that some folders in .config had been created with root permissions somehow (perhaps through launching 'sudo geany' early on in the life of this desktop to edit a config file - I can imagine this would be an unintended consequence of the first run of some gnome program being sudoed).

Having found the unusual permissions, I recently changed all such folders in my home directory from root ownership to my user's ownership - an example being the .config/gtk-2.0 folder. I then proceeded to reconfigure compiz. As of recent hours, changes made through CCSM seem to endure between sessions and DBus and Command can run and do not crash compiz. These issues may be related or not.

[MC Return (mc-return)]

@Cefn: Good news. :)