Hello Terry J. Reedy, first and foremost thanks for the time you've dedicated to this issue! I really appreciate you work!! Even if I work with Python since 2007, I'm new here, and not very well versed with this issue management system. This has been my first issue, hopefully not the last.. or maybe yes. Anyway, I'm going to clarify some points about your answers: 

1: scale.configure('whateveroption') can take the name of an option and should return its value, usually a tuple (unless you've already customized the option's value) as all other widgets already do. 

2. The code I've provided is not correct you're right. Mistakenly I've pasted the wrong one, but when I realized it, trying to delete and replace the uncorrect part, I've been unable to find the edit or delete feature on the issue tracker. Sorry for that.

3. I'd like to thank you for the clarification you've given about correct definition of crash and exception. I knew them. Anyway I'd like point out that there is no option in the 'create ticket' page of the issue tracker to specify that an exception that shouldn't be raised at all is instead raised. Considering that, if a piece of code is not supposed to raise exceptions managing them involve a runtime overhead we all want to avoid. Eventually the raising of the exception may stop an application abnormally leading to the same effect experienced in an application crash. 

4. Exaclty, Scale is the only one widget that override configure. So in theory no other similar issues should be found there.

It there is some action I need to do, or some documentation I need to read in order to be able to help here please point me there. Thank you again.