Automatic updates for XF - would you want it?

Biggest problem with Xenforo today this is, no auto-updates.

Upgrading core 4-6 times every year takes time. Starting a small forum is therefore not feasible if you want make a profit, it just takes to much time to keep XF safe (at least for my taste).

Chris D said:

The issue that often makes FTP necessary is the server's file system permissions or a host's/admin's reluctance to make parts of the file system writable to the web server user.

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Stock installation of cPanel has no problem with this as far as I know. Wordpress seems to have lunched auto-updates with success also. I'm pretty sure most web hosts today allow the web server user write to file. Hostgator is one example.

sdev said:

Biggest problem with Xenforo today this is, no auto-updates.

Upgrading core 4-6 times every year takes time. Starting a small forum is therefore not feasible if you want make a profit, it just takes to much time to keep XF safe (at least for my taste).

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I have had forum updates that caused mayhem resulting in literally days of extra work. However I don't recall any XenForo update taking more than a few minutes. Does your experience differ from that?

Well no. vBulletin was not better when it came to updates. But it still takes to much time, when you look at it from a financial standpoint.

A couple of hours I think the last upgrade took. But that might be because of plugins that also had to be updated and then the theme and then you have to check so everything works... Another advantage of auto-updates is that less technical persons can maintain a forum, having someone setting it up and it updates itself after that.

For third point maintenance releases, yes.

But I'd be hesitant on second point releases being auto-updated.

XF 1.4 for example introduced those Anti-spam Improvements by adding invisible honeypot fields. As that was a change to the Registration form template, custom themes needed a little time to update their customisations. Otherwise new users wouldn't be able to register.

Though having said that, there were betas and RCs for second point releases weren't there?

Nope I don't like the idea of automatic updates, I'm not lazy . I'm pretty much old school when it comes to upgrades, I need to make sure I have full control over what happen with my site.

I don't want to wake up one morning and find sql errors because the auto update screwed up something. When I upgrade I have a database that only minutes old waiting if something goes wrong.

marcgo15 said:

I don't want to wake up one morning and find sql errors because the auto update screwed up something.

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Of course it is a matter of trust, but theoretically, if the system is made properly, that kind of problem should never happen. And, if the system is also made properly, you should be notified of the exact time the update would take place, so you can "control" if the update was a success.

Scott

marcgo15 said:

Nope I don't like the idea of automatic updates, I'm not lazy . I'm pretty much old school when it comes to upgrades, I need to make sure I have full control over what happen with my site.

I don't want to wake up one morning and find sql errors because the auto update screwed up something. When I upgrade I have a database that only minutes old waiting if something goes wrong.

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I don't like the idea either (I wouldn't be against it as long as there's an option to disable it), but I wouldn't call anyone lazy for wanting automatic updates. A lot of people don't have the time or knowledge to do it themselves.