title: What are the differences between Long Term Support (LTS) and Stable versions of Node.js?
body: <p>Originally asked: <em>What is the difference between Node.js 4.x branch with LTS (Long Term Support) and the 5.x branch (listed as Stable)?</em></p>
  
  <p>But this is equally relevant to understanding the difference between 6.x and 7.x and, in the future, 8.x and 9.x</p>
  
  <p>Generally, I always lean towards the latest version for features and performance (as I now do a lot of ES6 / ES7). Is there any information on how production ready the "stable" branches are?</p>