Drupal 6.0... Is it worth your time?

I recently opened a webpage I did and was shocked to see a database error.  Shocked first because apparently my host automatically upgraded my drupal installation, and shocked as well because the site was completely shut down and inoperable.

Apparently, Drupal 5.xx sites can't be upgraded to a 6.0 or higher site without some major headaches.  There's some new features in 6.0 that look great, such as drag and drop admin panels, which sort of help functionality, to an easier setup, which most hosts can already run for you if they have fantastico installed.  Also, Drupal boasts that they have improved the security, but just released patch 6.2, which fixed some major security holes.

Still, with all of these great upgrades, none of the 5.xx modules are compatible with the new 6.0 version.  It will probably be mid-summer before 6.0 has enough modules that work correctly to make it a viable choice as an upgrade.

One nice thing is the new .info files in Drupal 6, which saves you from editing the theme.tpl.php file to add new block regions.  This truly is a nice feature, and gives me some hope for 6.0 in the future.

For now, I'm sticking with good old 5.7, where my sites function and the modules are plenty.  Later this summer I may try to upgrade and/or develop new sites in 6.0, but for right now it seems like the early adopters are in for more headaches than it is worth.