When I ran self-hosted Wordpress sites I wrote “lock” and “unlock” shell scripts that would alter file/directory permissions so Wordpress could install updates

When I ran self-hosted Wordpress sites I wrote “lock” and “unlock” shell scripts that would alter file/directory permissions so Wordpress could install updates on a fixed schedule. We could also “unlock” and push updates by hand if a patch seemed critical. But, we were running our own Linux servers and had some idea of what we were doing. Many Wordpress site admins don’t. And Wordpress community has decided to err on the side of fast and easy patching over ideal server settings. And honestly it’s hard to fault that decision; the vast majority of attempts on WP sites target known and patched vulnerabilities. Even this article notes “sites running outdated or unpatched versions of these WordPress tools are at risk.” (emphasis mine) Anything that helps people patch faster is probably the right choice for the WP community.