Hi,
It looks like somebody blocked me from responding to your post so I have to continue here.
I thought the "why" was sort of rhetorical, sorry about that.
I had to change my wp-config by adding this:
define( 'FS_METHOD', 'direct' );
AND I change the owner to www-data.
It said that I am updated to the latest versions now but at the plugins screen wpForo is still in 1.2.
Any ideas?
I can't say you did it correct or incorrect. I can't support website specific plugin update issues, but I can explain a simple way how to update wpForo manually.
1. Deactivate wpForo (not Uninstall)
2. Delete wpForo (click on Delete button)
3. Download the latest version
4. Click on [Add New Plugin] button, then click on [Upload Plugin] button, brows and install the plugin.