Add a nag on the upgrade screen in the event users use php4

[Denis-de-Bernardy]

Wasn't there supposed to be a nag in 2.9, under Tools / Upgrade, that tells users to switch to switch to php5 when relevant, so we could move forward with the latter?

[Denis-de-Bernardy]

Along the same lines, aren't we requiring 4.1 for 2.9, or was this postponed to 3.0?

[Denis-de-Bernardy]

that's mysql 4.1, even.

[miqrogroove]

#9751

[Denis-de-Bernardy]

fair enough... sigh...

[miqrogroove]

It's okay Denis. The way I see it, as long as PHP4 is supported, nobody is going to pay attention to a notice that says PHP5 should be installed.

[Denis-de-Bernardy]

Replying to miqrogroove:

It's okay Denis. The way I see it, as long as PHP4 is supported, nobody is going to pay attention to a notice that says PHP5 should be installed.

You'd be surprised, actually. It's just a matter of writing the nag as it should be. I added one in my Version Checker plugin. It basically goes: you should tell your host they should be ashamed to leave your site on such an insecure platform -- with links to the php4 is no longer maintained announcement. And sure enough, users have been upgrading *very* fast.

[Denis-de-Bernardy]

I'm actually re-opening this, too. The reasoning is this: I've had a few users who reported they were using php5 based on their CPanel install. But the fact of the matter is they had a cgi underneath that enforced php5. So, some users are believing they've php5 when they're really using php4.

We ought to direct those users to switch to php5. That this only concerns 10% of users is no valid argument.

[Denis-de-Bernardy]

s/that enforced php5/that enforced php4/

[miqrogroove]

If insecurity is the argument, then the on the other hand WordPress shouldn't support PHP4. Doesn't it feel duplicitous to say that the host should be ashamed of the PHP version, meanwhile WordPress asserts none of the PHP5-specific features?

[Denis-de-Bernardy]

Replying to miqrogroove:

If insecurity is the argument, then the on the other hand WordPress shouldn't support PHP4. Doesn't it feel duplicitous to say that the host should be ashamed of the PHP version, meanwhile WordPress asserts none of the PHP5-specific features?

I couldn't say any better, but I know others will disagree. Still, I've found that scaring the daylights out of end-users goes to great lengths when it comes to getting them to upgrade. My own "A new WP version is available. Please update now." nag is "A new WP version is available. Please update now before your site gets hacked" (with a link to matt's september post for lengthier explanations). And they do click on it more often.

[westi]

As I said on the other ticket I think this message/check fits into the teritory of a plugin which can have a faster update cycle and can check a lot more things to measure the health of your install - using the same paradigm as a password strength checker measures your password and offing recommendations on how you can improve things.

Closing as Duplicate of #9751.

[miqrogroove]

I like the idea of people on antiquated servers installing plugins for the purpose of making sure they have the latest software. There should be a way to monetize that...