Just to add a couple more things to think about for anyone else reading this thread. I just installed WP on Bluehost using Fantastico. As of today, 1 Jan 2009:
1. WordPress 2.6.5 is installed
2. The database collation is set to latin1_swedish_ci
3. All tables in the database are set to latin1_swedish_ci
4. The config.php file contains: define(‘DB_CHARSET’, ‘utf8’);
The config.php file db_charset is good…if only it were true ??
Bottom line…to paraphrase Forrest Gump, using an auto installer is like a box of chocolates…you never know what you’re going to get.
Disclaimer: This is not a shot at Bluehost…I’ve had an account with them for a very long time and have no complaints. It’s just information, and my opinion, about some possible pitfalls of using auto-installers for production sites for any type software…not just WP.