I just installed Discourse with the DigitalOcean one click setup app and finally managed to get SMTP up and running. As shown in the screenshot below it installed a “beta” version, is this behavior intentional or am I going to run into a bunch of issues?
No, that is intentional. By default, discourse sets you up to be running on tests-passed, which means you can usually run /admin/upgrade daily and get updates, or you can wait to get notified of new beta releases and update then (via the admin dashboard).
There are a few sites that point directly to beta or stable, but the updates you will see are less often (beta being around 4-6 weeks), stable being months.
I’m fine being on beta as long as it doesn’t mean a bunch of bugs or security issues.
This shows up from time to time on different pages. Do normal users see this? Can it be disabled?
Only shows up if your email address is in the developers email variable in your app.yml (so only to you). You can alter that file remove your email address and it will go away.
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Ok thanks 
Actually beta tends to be more reliable and secured due to bug fixes. Regressions are rare.
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well that’s good, I’m looking for plugins to install and I need to design a theme soon. Any suggested plugins?
Search. Tons of advices you’ll find.
Quick note, being on tests-passed (as recommended) will allow you to update your site anytime a commit passes all the automated tests (by visiting /admin/upgrade). However, there may be times where a larger commit is added that carries a higher risk of regressions. We are very careful when bumping the release version (a new beta) to ensure we’ve iron out any unexpected kinks first, so unless you have a specific reason to upgrade early, wait until a new beta is released and you are notified before upgrading.
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