[support] Why doesn't Drupal sees the "files" folder?

[AjK]

> So, is this some bug that keeps being ignored in
> Drupal development, or is it only thoroughly undocumented?
> Is there really no way to have separate files folders, one
> for each virtual site?

I set the files folder in the settings.php file thus:-

$conf = array(
  'file_directory_path' => 'files/www.example.com'
);

so it can't be changed by a site admin

regards
--AjK