What obvious thing am I not getting here?

I wish to upgrade from3.0.16 to 3.0.17.

At one point, the upgrade instructions say:

So I am going to overwrite the entire set of skin folders in which I have invested 20 or more hours customizing the style sheets and templates?

Hello?

Why would I do that to myself?

But the fact that the above quoted text so plainly implies that this apparently suicidal move is not what it appears to be, suggests that I am missing some oh-so-very-simple thing.

What is that thing?

It is assuming Joe that you have made no changes to the skin files or at the very least renamed one of the skins so that it would not get overwritten. The upgrade is based on a stock installation with no changes made. If you have changed one of the skins then rename it to something else and then proceed with the upgrade. That way the new skin will not get changed.

As I said, I have about many hours invested in the skin. I suspect that the language of those upgrade instructions has brought grief on many an un-suspecting skinner. Yes, I know the file starts with a strong warning to back up everything. The instructions should at least make the point clear that overwriting the skins folder is to be avoided.

But thanks for helping me understand that my relentlessly literally-minded approach is not at fault.