Thunderbird updates are too frequent/too attention-seeking

[Kalvar]

I love Thunderbird and I use it almost exclusively to deal with my multiple email accounts (Windows 10).

However, the frequency of updates in conjunction with the attention-seeking pop-ups to update is killing my enjoyment of the application.

I usually have Thunderbird open to respond to email but sometimes attention is unnecessarily disrupted by the app "flashing" in the taskbar. I automatically open the app and am greeted by a modal pop-up (in top-right) that tells me the app needs an update. Neither of these two behaviors are something I find acceptable for a desktop application. It cannot be that important to update the 3rd time in a week with minor cosmetic changes. I should not have my workflow disrupted to respond to such an non-critical event.

I see two ways that this could be resolved to avoid the current situation:

1. Allow the user to modify how often Thunderbird checks for updates; Daily, weekly or monthly updates would be amazing and put the user back in control over the app.

2. Make the update prompt less drastic, I think an app should be "quiet unless spoken to" and currently Thunderbird misbehaves by: i) flashing in the taskbar (even when it's not in focus!),  ii) A focus-stealing pop-up with update prompt when application is opened. By removing or weakening the urgency of these pop-ups the updates would be made less disruptive.

I find i) to be the biggest offender since this can seriously disrupt the user no matter what they are doing on their computer. But ii) is a close second, currently the box asks (in this normalized dark-pattern) whether I would like to update now or later. If I choose later it's as if Thunderbird suddenly acquires dementia because it will keep asking every time I open the app. I can understand this behavior from a less critical application, such as say Notepad++, which does not need to be running constantly to fulfill it's function. But an email-client has different use-cases and should be able to run in the background without disrupting the user with internal messages, barring something exceptional such as a security update.

P.S I understand I can enable automatic updates but that would leave me open for potential crashes which I cannot risk, first and foremost I must be able to send and receive email.

[Thunderbird613]

I was a victim of the bug that crashed Thunderbird for anyone using e-mail with a POP-3 server.  I lost 3 years worth of e-mails (I'm going to have to pay someone to help me recover them) and I now have e-mails that just open up to a blank screen and which cannot be read.  It seems that whomever created that update didn't allow for anyyone having more than 4MB of e-mails and all the rest were wiped out.  Suddenly seeing e-mails at least once a week makes me very nervous because I fear no-one properly check these new updates for similar bugs. 

[Thunderbird613]

The suggestion that frequent updates are needed to fix bugs because "they often carry crucial bug fixes, security patches, and performance improvements that are essential for user safety and experience." makes me wonder if whomever is supervising the release of those updates is simply being careless and letting too many new bugs and securty issues slip through -  like the major bug that destroyed me email (and everyone else using a POP-3 server).