Yes, it could affect MOI's selection method on a global scale. Having a specialized "object" mode would allow quicker selections, so you don't have to drill down through the group first. Of course in group mode, selecting non-grouped objects would still act on the individual object. And using the hotkey to flip through them would enable you to quickly select individual objects, press a hotkey to start picking groups, press again to add selection by layer, etc. A good example of this would be modo, where we press the space bar to scroll through sub-object selection modes. The major difference in Moi would be that items don't deselect when switching modes... Take a look at modo for a good example of a smart item managment panel. It can be compressed/expanding simply by dragging it's borders...

jonah