Fedora 23 to Fedora 24
When Fedora 24 is officially released, will it show up during my now regular "dnf --refresh --upgrade" and be found as an update, or does it need to be downloaded as a complete new install? If it's the first then of course I simply have the choice and imagine that since I already have an up to date 23 installation there will be less to download. If it's the second option and requires a complete new install, why would this be? Also, does this mean that my grub screen would show Fedora 24 plus three previous installs of 23, or would it "begin again"?
Are there any possible downsides to going with a complete new version? I know everyone likes to talk up how great all the new and improved features are, but I'm looking for stability and NOT!!! most definitely not a borked installation, or frozen out of the graphical desktop etc. etc.
Sure, there are downsides of an early adoption of a new release. The software has been tested less, and has potentially more bugs. Common, bad bugs F24 bugs are listed here.
If you are looking for stability (and you consider F23 stable), then I would suggest your to remain with F24 for a little while.
An upgrade is almost like a new installation in terms of packages to download. Almost every package on your system will be replaced during the upgrade process no matter how up-to-date your current software is. If you are really concerned about stability and not anxious to get the new software versions, then wait a month to upgrade. Fedora releases are generally quite stable at release time, but I wait a bit to make sure any issues are worked out before rolling it out to my users. For myself, I usually upgrade sooner.
upgrade is the most efficient in terms of download. you download only what needs to be downloaded, not more, not less. For a new install you get close to that by using the netinstall image but if you use something like a DVD image for a fresh install, you can be sure that you download quite a bit of useless data...
Just following on from the answer below: what is the purpose of NOT including version 24 during my regular upgrades? Why would it need to be specifically invoked used the command given? How does it help for me to continue with 23 indefinitely? A curious philosophy behind this that I don't understand.
Fedora is not designed to be a rolling release by default (That is what you are describing more or less). Not everybody wants to roll over to the newest stuff right away - if continuity and stability is more important than most recent packages. That way user has the option. Run the upgrade command (now or later), or stay with a F23 until it reaches End-of-Life and then upgrade to a more mature F24. Free software, free choice.