I find the auto-updates to be distracting and they make we stop what I'm doing to wait for them to finish. I don't know if I have to wait, and I don't want to wait. I expect new users will have the same uncertain reaction.
We should add a Refresh button to every page that has any dynamic data. Let the user decide when he wants to check to see if anything's changed.
There could be a background check that just displays an alert when a change is detected. For instance, the Refresh button could glow. Even better is a dynamic tooltip for the button indicating what changed and when.
That said, when the user makes a change, the current page and all related pages should automatically reflect that change. The current page should highlight what's changed.
We can let the user choose auto-update in the future Settings page.
I find the auto-updates to be distracting and they make we stop what I'm doing to wait for them to finish. I don't know if I have to wait, and I don't want to wait. I expect new users will have the same uncertain reaction.