I don't believe the "|0|0|24" string is actually used by the software. :) It seems to be appended to any exclude rules for files/paths I make regardless of settings, and removing them doesn't seem to have any impact.
I'll let the development team know about your interest in a 'non-recursive' exclude, though, so that can be considered further. At this time, though, I'm not aware of any way that the software can be configured as you ask. (Even adding Include rules for the subfolders wouldn't work, as Exclude rules take priority over Include rules.)