Gianluca Interlandi composed on 2024-03-05 10:49 (UTC-0800):
What I wonder about Tumbleweed is the following. What happens if you do not update the system for a while. Let's say you had the system sit for 2 years but for whatever reason you never did updates. But now you need to install a new package that you did not install when you performed the installation. Are you required now to bring the system up to date before you install the new package?
Only to the extent that the new package depends on other packages that have since been updated, and any others those depend upon. That said, not keeping up-to-date means zero security fixes.
I have roughly 40 TW installations. I try to keep them from going more than 6 months without full upgrading. Most I do at ad hoc intervals between 2 weeks and 2 months.