diff --git a/docs/customize.rst b/docs/customize.rst
index 7b05120..da1b8dc 100644
--- a/docs/customize.rst
+++ b/docs/customize.rst
@@ -1,6 +1,15 @@
 Customizing the Parser with Your Own Configuration
 ==================================================
 
+:py:class:`~nameparser.config.Constants` is for application-level
+configuration, set once at startup: the shared module-level ``CONSTANTS``
+instance is the only channel that reaches parses happening in code you don't
+own -- helpers, pipelines, a third-party library using nameparser internally
+-- the same role ``logging`` and ``locale`` play elsewhere. For anything
+scoped to one dataset, one library, or one test, pass your own ``Constants``
+instance instead -- see the three explicit forms under "Module-level Shared
+Configuration Instance" below.
+
 Recognition of titles, prefixes, suffixes and conjunctions is handled by
 matching the lower case characters of a name piece with pre-defined sets
 of strings located in :py:mod:`nameparser.config`. You can adjust
@@ -428,13 +437,14 @@ making them lower case and removing periods.
 Module-level Shared Configuration Instance
 ------------------------------------------
 
-When you modify the configuration, by default this will modify the behavior all
-HumanName instances. This could be a handy way to set it up for your entire
-project, but it could also lead to some unexpected behavior because changing
-the config on one instance could modify the behavior of another instance.
-Parsing itself never modifies the configuration — only your own ``add`` and
-``remove`` calls do — so the shared instance is safe to read concurrently,
-e.g. parsing names on multiple threads.
+As established above, ``CONSTANTS`` is shared by every ``HumanName`` created
+without its own config -- that's what makes it the right place for
+application-level setup, and also the source of the one gotcha it carries:
+changing the config on one instance changes the behavior of every other
+instance that shares it, which can be surprising if you only meant to
+configure the one you're holding. Parsing itself never modifies the
+configuration — only your own ``add`` and ``remove`` calls do — so the shared
+instance is safe to read concurrently, e.g. parsing names on multiple threads.
 
 .. doctest:: module config
     :options: +ELLIPSIS, +NORMALIZE_WHITESPACE
diff --git a/nameparser/config/__init__.py b/nameparser/config/__init__.py
index 342fd6e..5d61861 100644
--- a/nameparser/config/__init__.py
+++ b/nameparser/config/__init__.py
@@ -1,20 +1,24 @@
 """
 The :py:mod:`nameparser.config` module manages the configuration of the
-nameparser. 
+nameparser.
 
-A module-level instance of :py:class:`~nameparser.config.Constants` is created
-and used by default for all HumanName instances. You can adjust the entire module's
-configuration by importing this instance and changing it.
+:py:class:`~nameparser.config.Constants` is for application-level
+configuration, set once at startup. ``CONSTANTS``, the module-level instance
+used by every ``HumanName`` created without its own config, is the only
+channel that reaches parses happening in code you don't own (helpers,
+pipelines, a third-party library using nameparser internally) -- the same
+role ``logging`` and ``locale`` play elsewhere. Import it and change it
+directly:
 
 ::
 
     >>> from nameparser.config import CONSTANTS
     >>> CONSTANTS.titles.remove('hon').add('chemistry','dean') # doctest: +SKIP
 
-You can also adjust the configuration of individual instances by passing
-your own :py:class:`Constants` instance as the second argument upon
-instantiation -- ``Constants()`` for fresh library defaults, or
-``CONSTANTS.copy()`` for a private snapshot of the current module config.
+For anything scoped -- one dataset, one library, one test -- pass your own
+:py:class:`Constants` instance as the second argument upon instantiation
+instead: ``Constants()`` for fresh library defaults, or ``CONSTANTS.copy()``
+for a private snapshot of the current module config.
 
 ::
 
@@ -24,9 +28,10 @@
     >>> hn.C.titles.add('dean') # doctest: +SKIP
     >>> hn.parse_full_name() # need to run this again after config changes
 
-**Potential Gotcha**: If you do not pass your own :py:class:`Constants`
-instance as the second argument, ``hn.C`` will be a reference to the module
-config, possibly yielding unexpected results. See `Customizing the Parser
+Mixing the two up is where the surprises come from, not the API itself: if
+you do not pass your own :py:class:`Constants` instance as the second
+argument, ``hn.C`` will be a reference to the module config, and a change
+there reaches every other instance sharing it. See `Customizing the Parser
 <customize.html>`_.
 
 .. deprecated:: 1.4.0