[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #33374: Improvements for the messages visible in the plugin manager

[WordPress Trac]

#33374: Improvements for the messages visible in the plugin manager
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 Reporter:  dziudek      |       Owner:
     Type:  enhancement  |      Status:  new
 Priority:  normal       |   Milestone:  Future Release
Component:  Plugins      |     Version:
 Severity:  normal       |  Resolution:
 Keywords:               |     Focuses:  ui, administration
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Comment (by tigertech):

 Replying to [comment:5 dd32]:
 > IMHO A plugin not being updated in more than 2 years for an existing
 user isn't something we need to point out, plenty of plugins continue to
 work without issue past the 2 year mark. The plugins directory does alert
 and remove it from the search results however, as for a new user, it's
 more likely the plugin won't work as intended.

 As some feedback on this, I work at a hosting company and we're seeing
 more and more WordPress core or PHP updates fail due to outdated plugins.
 The conversation goes like this:

 Customer: "I upgraded WordPress or PHP and now my site has an error."

 Us: "Hmmm. Did you upgrade all the plugins before updating WordPress or
 PHP?"

 Customer: "Yes, I made sure that every plugin was showing that there were
 no updates available in the dashboard, so I'm sure they're all current."

 Then we find the customer didn't realize that one of the plugins hadn't
 been updated in many years and no longer works when paired with modern
 WordPress, or with other plugins, or with PHP 7, etc.

 If the reason the plugins directory shows "This plugin has not been
 updated for more than 2 years" is to discourage people from using it with
 (say) new WordPress 4.8 installs, it seems like the same logic should
 apply to (say) WordPress 4.8 upgrades within the dashboard.

 A warning before doing a core update would be better than nothing, but I'd
 like to see it in the plugin list because it would give people a hint that
 they should be aware of unsupported software on an ongoing basis
 (particularly from a security perspective), and perhaps it would encourage
 them to switch to something that's better maintained before they have a
 later problem from a PHP update, etc.

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Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/33374#comment:6>
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