Magento: item stock availability configuration
===

I would like to know, in Magento, when one configures the inventory
related to a given product, one can go to the following:

Magento Admin Panel -> Catalog -> Manage Products -> Click on Product ->
Product Information -> Inventory

where a property called "Stock Availability" can be set. I have read
that this property allows the product to show up as in stock in the
backend even when out of stock in the frontend (found this info in
the book Mastering Magento by Brett Williams).

Shouldn't it be the other way round (item shows up in stock on the
frontend even when out of stock on the backend)?

Thanks,

John Goche