I wonder about the merits of migrating my community from V4 to V5.

Switching to V5 will require time-consuming technical operations (in particular modifying the tables of my database in InnoDB) with a real risk of crash, therefore interruption of service, restoration, etc.

Then, the software upgrade to V5 and probably the database modifications that this will entail will bring a second technical risk (my DB is around 4Gb).

The staff announced the deprecation of several features, in particular on custom PHP blocks that will no longer work. And what do we do if we need them?

Even if I have not had the opportunity to test a real V5, it is likely that the user experience will evolve (new editor) and perhaps also everything that revolves around photo galleries.

And finally, there will inevitably be small malfunctions inherent in any new major version.
Not tot mention the impacts on translation of non-english speaking people versions ....

This risks destabilizing my audience, users don't like changes very much.

In short, I see a lot of risks, but very few benefits. The "Five features my community will love" seem very anecdotal to justify such a heavy migration. In short, I see a lot of risks, but very few benefits. The "Five features that my community will love" seem very anecdotal to justify such a heavy migration. I would like to have your opinion.

Edited February 19Feb 19 by Philooo

Your summation sounds reasonable. If you don’t see clear benefits, just wait and don’t upgrade. Over time, the calculation will change. The risks become fewer as 5.x will mature and staying on 4.x will eventually become more risky with software that becomes more and more outdated and eventually not even getting security updates.

Ultimately, the only person who can decide on what the merits are of moving to the latest version of the software is yourself. v4 is still very much there, and it will be quite a while before anything changes in that regard. If you decided on staying on v4 until you are ready, then you certainly wont be on you own

A few responses to things you have said above

 

Switching to V5 will require time-consuming technical operations (in particular modifying the tables of my database in InnoDB) with a real risk of crash, therefore interruption of service, restoration, etc.

This is actually something you should be doing anyway, even on version 4. Our recommendation is that all tables use INNODB. If you go to the support area of your admin CP, it will tell you that there also. Being on MyISAM can cause you issues with speed, issues with locking of tables, a higher chance of tables crashing, and not to mention the fact you are running a database engine we don't optimise for. So at present, the risk is actually the opposite of what you are assuming there. You are running more a risk by not using INNODB

 

Then, the software upgrade to V5 and probably the database modifications that this will entail will bring a second technical risk (my DB is around 4Gb).

I'm not sure what you mean on this one, but Im assuming you are saying that is large? We have upgraded sites which are much much much larger than the database you have there.

 

The staff announced the deprecation of several features, in particular on custom PHP blocks that will no longer work. And what do we do if we need them?

There are of course ways around this, but they are done differently. In some cases they can simply be done with html and JS rather than PHP. If so, you would just be rewriting the blocks. If you absolutely need to be using PHP, then you can still add those, but you would need to do so by creating an application.

 

Even if I have not had the opportunity to test a real V5, it is likely that the user experience will evolve (new editor) and perhaps also everything that revolves around photo galleries.

The short answer to that one, is that you really should test it before you decide. :)

 

And finally, there will inevitably be small malfunctions inherent in any new major version.
Not tot mention the impacts on translation of non-english speaking people versions ....

This risks destabilizing my audience, users don't like changes very much.

There will of course. v4 is a decade old, whereas v5 is very new and having things amended and added all the time.

 

In short, I see a lot of risks, but very few benefits. The "Five features my community will love" seem very anecdotal to justify such a heavy migration. In short, I see a lot of risks, but very few benefits. The "Five features that my community will love" seem very anecdotal to justify such a heavy migration. I would like to have your opinion.

I think what OpenType said above sums it up really. If you don't see a clear benefit, that's fine. You can stay on v4 until you are ready. You'll note I've not tried to talk you into it in any way :) Its down to yourself when you are ready. Of course, at some point there will not be a choice, but you are a long long way from that yet. It would be worth having a read through all our current blogs here

https://invisioncommunity.com/news/

 

I think what OpenType said above sums it up really. If you don't see a clear benefit, that's fine. You can stay on v4 until you are ready. You'll note I've not tried to talk you into it in any way :) Its down to yourself when you are ready. Of course, at some point there will not be a choice, but you are a long long way from that yet. It would be worth having a read through all our current blogs here

https://invisioncommunity.com/news/

Thank you. And that's why I'm discussing it calmly.

I think that when I have a better mastery of the migration process and the new features I'll get started!

Hi there,
I can only speak for myself, but to me and I've read that from the IC staff, as well, we don't have to migrate soon.
Especially for bigger boards it is a major migration with planning, development, testing and migration... so we usually do an intensive migration for major IC upgrades, i.e. 3->4 e.g.
And I am pretty sure your community will profit from a fresh, modernized and up-to-date platform.
As said: You have time. We are going to migrate definetely, but not before end of the year - or maybe somewhere in 2026.

I see your points, but they are not so different as the question: Why should I buy a new car ;-)

Edited February 19Feb 19 by Thomas P

@Thomas P : I see your points, but they are not so different as the question: Why should I buy a new car ;-)

It's funny because my community is based on vintage cars!

In fact, we can drive a new Tesla that brings us a lot of innovation and attractive elements. But we can also drive a car that is 20, 40 or even 70 years old just by taking a few simple precautions.

But with computers, there will always be a version of PHP, MySQL or another constraint that means that your "car" even though scrupulously maintained will no longer be able to start!

Edited February 19Feb 19 by Philooo

😆

 

But with computers, there will always be a version of PHP, MySQL or another constraint that means that your "car" even though scrupulously maintained will no longer be able to start!

Yes, that is how I see it.
And ofc to be fair there were and are always a bunch of good features worth checking out. I assume there will be more to come in the next month 😉

I will be happy to see some websites that are allready in 5.x
Is there a directory or some examples list ?

https://invisioncommunity.com/forums/topic/481513-anyone-upgrade-to-v5-can-i-see-your-site/