docs: explicit EOL for previous releases (#16263)

Co-authored-by: Bjorn Lu <[email protected]>

Author: patak-dev

docs/releases.md

@@ -8,13 +8,25 @@ A full changelog of past releases is [available on GitHub](https://github.com/vi
 
 Vite does not have a fixed release cycle.
 
-- **Patch** releases are released as needed.
-- **Minor** releases always contain new features and are also released as needed. Minor releases always go through a beta pre-release phase.
-- **Major** releases generally align with [Node.js EOL schedule](https://endoflife.date/nodejs), and will be announced ahead of time. These releases will go through an early discussion phase, and both alpha and beta pre-release phases.
+- **Patch** releases are released as needed (usually every week).
+- **Minor** releases always contain new features and are released as needed. Minor releases always have a beta pre-release phase (usually every two months).
+- **Major** releases generally align with [Node.js EOL schedule](https://endoflife.date/nodejs), and will be announced ahead of time. These releases will go through long-term discussions with the ecosystem, and have alpha and beta pre-release phases (usually every year).
 
-The previous Vite Major will keep receiving important fixes and security patches. After that, it would only get updates if there are security concerns. We recommend updating Vite regularly. Check out the [Migration Guides](https://vitejs.dev/guide/migration.html) when you update to each Major.
+The Vite versions ranges that are supported by the Vite team is automatically determined by:
 
-The Vite team partners with the main projects in the ecosystem to test new Vite versions before they are released through the [vite-ecosystem-ci project](https://github.com/vitejs/vite-ecosystem-ci). Most projects using Vite should be able to quickly offer support or migrate to new versions as soon as they are released.
+- **Current Minor** gets regular fixes.
+- **Previous Major** (only for its latest minor) and **Previous Minor** receives important fixes and security patches.
+- **Second-to-last Major** (only for its latest minor) and **Second-to-last Minor** receives security patches.
+- All versions before these are no longer supported.
+
+As an example, if the Vite latest is at 5.3.10:
+
+- Regular patches are released for `[email protected]`.
+- Important fixes and security patches are backported to `vite@4` and `[email protected]`.
+- Security patches are also backported to `vite@3`, and `[email protected]`.
+- `vite@2` and `[email protected]` are no longer supported. Users should upgrade to receive updates.
+
+We recommend updating Vite regularly. Check out the [Migration Guides](https://vitejs.dev/guide/migration.html) when you update to each Major. The Vite team works closely with the main projects in the ecosystem to ensure the quality of new versions. We test new Vite versions before releasing them through the [vite-ecosystem-ci project](https://github.com/vitejs/vite-ecosystem-ci). Most projects using Vite should be able to quickly offer support or migrate to new versions as soon as they are released.
 
 ## Semantic Versioning Edge Cases