diff --git a/classes/File.php b/classes/File.php
index a273a60d3a..63fe6e8f4f 100644
--- a/classes/File.php
+++ b/classes/File.php
@@ -760,9 +760,12 @@ class File extends Managed_DataObject
         if ($file instanceof File) {
             throw new ServerException('URL already exists in DB');
         }
-        $sql = 'UPDATE %1$s SET urlhash = %2$s, url = %3$s WHERE urlhash = %4$s;';
         $result = $this->query(sprintf(
-            $sql,
+            <<<'END'
+            UPDATE %1$s
+              SET urlhash = %2$s, url = %3$s, modified = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
+              WHERE urlhash = %4$s;
+            END,
             $this->tableName(),
             $this->_quote((string)self::hashurl($url)),
             $this->_quote((string)$url),
@@ -939,7 +942,7 @@ class File extends Managed_DataObject
             }
         }
         echo "...and now all the non-duplicates which are longer than 191 characters...\n";
-        $file->query('UPDATE file SET url=LEFT(url, 191) WHERE LENGTH(url)>191');
+        $file->query('UPDATE file SET url = LEFT(url, 191) WHERE LENGTH(url) > 191');
 
         echo "\n...now running hacky pre-schemaupdate change for $table:";
         // We have to create a urlhash that is _not_ the primary key,
@@ -973,7 +976,7 @@ class File extends Managed_DataObject
                 throw new ServerException('Unknown DB type selected.');
         }
         $tablefix->query(sprintf(
-            'UPDATE %1$s SET urlhash = %2$s;',
+            'UPDATE %1$s SET urlhash = %2$s, modified = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP;',
             $tablefix->escapedTableName(),
             $url_sha256
         ));
diff --git a/classes/File_redirection.php b/classes/File_redirection.php
index 234cb9de1e..4bbb3f1484 100644
--- a/classes/File_redirection.php
+++ b/classes/File_redirection.php
@@ -468,7 +468,7 @@ class File_redirection extends Managed_DataObject
                 throw new ServerException('Unknown DB type selected.');
         }
         $tablefix->query(sprintf(
-            'UPDATE %1$s SET urlhash = %2$s;',
+            'UPDATE %1$s SET urlhash = %2$s, modified = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP;',
             $tablefix->escapedTableName(),
             $url_sha256
         ));
diff --git a/classes/Local_group.php b/classes/Local_group.php
index cd95998029..2a1ff71dfc 100644
--- a/classes/Local_group.php
+++ b/classes/Local_group.php
@@ -74,15 +74,20 @@ class Local_group extends Managed_DataObject
     public function setNickname($nickname)
     {
         $this->decache();
+        $modified = common_sql_now();
         $result = $this->query(sprintf(
-            'UPDATE local_group SET nickname = %1$s WHERE group_id = %2$d;',
+            <<<'END'
+            UPDATE local_group SET nickname = %1$s, modified = %2$s
+              WHERE group_id = %3$d;
+            END,
             $this->_quote($nickname),
+            $this->_quote($modified),
             $this->group_id
         ));
 
         if ($result) {
             $this->nickname = $nickname;
-            $this->fixupTimestamps();
+            $this->modified = $modified;
             $this->encache();
         } else {
             common_log_db_error($local, 'UPDATE', __FILE__);
diff --git a/classes/Managed_DataObject.php b/classes/Managed_DataObject.php
index ead8a9a07f..100c751c87 100644
--- a/classes/Managed_DataObject.php
+++ b/classes/Managed_DataObject.php
@@ -522,6 +522,25 @@ abstract class Managed_DataObject extends Memcached_DataObject
         return $aliases;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Set the attribute defined as "timestamp" to CURRENT_TIMESTAMP.
+     * This is hooked in update() and updateWithKeys() to update "modified".
+     *
+     * @access private
+     * @return void
+     */
+    private function updateAutoTimestamps(): void
+    {
+        $table = static::schemaDef();
+        foreach ($table['fields'] as $name => $col) {
+            if ($col['type'] === 'timestamp'
+                && !array_key_exists('default', $col)
+                && !isset($this->$name)) {
+                $this->$name = common_sql_now();
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     /**
      * update() won't write key columns, so we have to do it ourselves.
      * This also automatically calls "update" _before_ it sets the keys.
@@ -548,6 +567,10 @@ abstract class Managed_DataObject extends Memcached_DataObject
         // do it in a transaction
         $this->query('START TRANSACTION');
 
+        // ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP behaviour
+        // @fixme Should the value be reverted back if transaction failed?
+        $this->updateAutoTimestamps();
+
         $parts = [];
         foreach ($this->keys() as $k) {
             $v = $this->table()[$k];
@@ -664,12 +687,25 @@ abstract class Managed_DataObject extends Memcached_DataObject
     public function insert()
     {
         $this->onInsert();
-        return parent::insert();
+        $result = parent::insert();
+
+        // Make this object aware of the changed "modified" attribute.
+        // Sets it approximately to the same value as DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
+        // just did (@fixme).
+        if ($result) {
+            $this->updateAutoTimestamps();
+        }
+        return $result;
     }
 
-    public function update($dataObject=false)
+    public function update($dataObject = false)
     {
         $this->onUpdate($dataObject);
+
+        // ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP behaviour
+        // @fixme Should the value be reverted back if transaction failed?
+        $this->updateAutoTimestamps();
+
         return parent::update($dataObject);
     }
 }
diff --git a/classes/Memcached_DataObject.php b/classes/Memcached_DataObject.php
index 350b7659b4..f26018b33d 100644
--- a/classes/Memcached_DataObject.php
+++ b/classes/Memcached_DataObject.php
@@ -443,7 +443,6 @@ class Memcached_DataObject extends Safe_DataObject
     {
         $result = parent::insert();
         if ($result) {
-            $this->fixupTimestamps();
             $this->encache(); // in case of cached negative lookups
         }
         return $result;
@@ -456,7 +455,6 @@ class Memcached_DataObject extends Safe_DataObject
         }
         $result = parent::update($dataObject);
         if ($result !== false) {
-            $this->fixupTimestamps();
             $this->encache();
         }
         return $result;
@@ -931,22 +929,6 @@ class Memcached_DataObject extends Safe_DataObject
         return $c->delete($cacheKey);
     }
 
-    public function fixupTimestamps()
-    {
-        // Fake up timestamp columns
-        $columns = $this->table();
-        foreach ($columns as $name => $type) {
-            if ($type & DB_DATAOBJECT_MYSQLTIMESTAMP) {
-                $this->$name = common_sql_now();
-            }
-        }
-    }
-
-    public function debugDump()
-    {
-        common_debug("debugDump: " . common_log_objstring($this));
-    }
-
     public function raiseError($message, $type = null, $behavior = null)
     {
         $id = get_class($this);
diff --git a/classes/Notice.php b/classes/Notice.php
index f24283fa60..96368fe5b4 100644
--- a/classes/Notice.php
+++ b/classes/Notice.php
@@ -3243,7 +3243,11 @@ class Notice extends Managed_DataObject
                         unset($notice);
                         $notice = new Notice();
                         $notice->query(sprintf(
-                            'UPDATE %1$s SET %2$s = NULL WHERE id IN (%3$s)',
+                            <<<'END'
+                            UPDATE %1$s
+                              SET %2$s = NULL, modified = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
+                              WHERE id IN (%3$s)
+                            END,
                             $notice->escapedTableName(),
                             $field,
                             implode(',', $ids)
diff --git a/classes/Oauth_application_user.php b/classes/Oauth_application_user.php
index 8165688226..1ed8bc706c 100644
--- a/classes/Oauth_application_user.php
+++ b/classes/Oauth_application_user.php
@@ -86,6 +86,7 @@ class Oauth_application_user extends Managed_DataObject
             return true;
         }
         $toupdate = implode(', ', $parts);
+        $toupdate .= ', modified = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP';
 
         $table = $this->tableName();
         $tableName = $this->escapedTableName();
diff --git a/classes/Profile_tag.php b/classes/Profile_tag.php
index 66a922de79..596ef5b11c 100644
--- a/classes/Profile_tag.php
+++ b/classes/Profile_tag.php
@@ -292,14 +292,16 @@ class Profile_tag extends Managed_DataObject
     public static function moveTag($orig, $new)
     {
         $tags = new Profile_tag();
-        $qry = "UPDATE profile_tag SET tag = '%s', tagger = '%s' " .
-               "WHERE tag = '%s' AND tagger = '%s'";
         $result = $tags->query(sprintf(
-            $qry,
-            $tags->escape($new->tag),
-            $tags->escape($new->tagger),
-            $tags->escape($orig->tag),
-            $tags->escape($orig->tagger)
+            <<<'END'
+            UPDATE profile_tag
+              SET tag = %1$s, tagger = %2$s, modified = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
+              WHERE tag = %3$s AND tagger = %4$s
+            END,
+            $tags->_quote($new->tag),
+            $tags->_quote($new->tagger),
+            $tags->_quote($orig->tag),
+            $tags->_quote($orig->tagger)
         ));
 
         if ($result === false) {
diff --git a/classes/Queue_item.php b/classes/Queue_item.php
index 709b35435f..39380b9938 100644
--- a/classes/Queue_item.php
+++ b/classes/Queue_item.php
@@ -104,11 +104,22 @@ class Queue_item extends Managed_DataObject
      */
     public function releaseClaim()
     {
-        // DB_DataObject doesn't let us save nulls right now
-        $sql = sprintf("UPDATE queue_item SET claimed=NULL WHERE id=%d", $this->getID());
-        $this->query($sql);
+        $modified = common_sql_now();
+        // @fixme Consider $this->sqlValue('NULL')
+        $ret = $this->query(sprintf(
+            <<<'END'
+            UPDATE queue_item
+              SET claimed = NULL, modified = %1$s
+              WHERE id = %2$d
+            END,
+            $this->_quote($modified),
+            $this->getID()
+        ));
 
-        $this->claimed = null;
-        $this->encache();
+        if ($ret) {
+            $this->claimed = null;
+            $this->modified = $modified;
+            $this->encache();
+        }
     }
 }
diff --git a/lib/database/mysqlschema.php b/lib/database/mysqlschema.php
index b66911951a..6a4a5f017f 100644
--- a/lib/database/mysqlschema.php
+++ b/lib/database/mysqlschema.php
@@ -145,12 +145,6 @@ class MysqlSchema extends Schema
                 if (preg_match('/(^|\s)auto_increment(\s|$)/i', $extra)) {
                     $field['auto_increment'] = true;
                 }
-                if (preg_match(
-                    '/(^|\s)on update CURRENT_TIMESTAMP(\(\))?(\s|$)/i',
-                    $extra
-                )) {
-                    $field['auto_update_timestamp'] = true;
-                }
             }
 
             $table_props = $this->getTableProperties($table, ['TABLE_COLLATION']);
@@ -519,10 +513,6 @@ class MysqlSchema extends Schema
         if (!empty($cd['auto_increment'])) {
             $line[] = 'AUTO_INCREMENT';
         }
-        // This'll have been added from our transform of "timestamp" type
-        if (!empty($cd['auto_update_timestamp'])) {
-            $line[] = 'ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP';
-        }
 
         if (!empty($cd['description'])) {
             $line[] = 'COMMENT';
diff --git a/lib/database/schema.php b/lib/database/schema.php
index 835dd4a8f1..0fa02e7199 100644
--- a/lib/database/schema.php
+++ b/lib/database/schema.php
@@ -1043,7 +1043,6 @@ class Schema
                     $col['type'] = 'datetime';
                     if (!array_key_exists('default', $col)) {
                         $col['default'] = 'CURRENT_TIMESTAMP';
-                        // FIXME: PostgreSQL support.
                         $col['auto_update_timestamp'] = true;
                     }
                     // no break
diff --git a/plugins/Embed/scripts/fixup_files.php b/plugins/Embed/scripts/fixup_files.php
index 1a4d1ed3dc..246091d2f3 100755
--- a/plugins/Embed/scripts/fixup_files.php
+++ b/plugins/Embed/scripts/fixup_files.php
@@ -116,10 +116,15 @@ while ($fn->fetch()) {
                 echo " (unchanged, but embedding lookup failed)\n";
             }
         } elseif (!$dry) {
-            $sql = "UPDATE file " .
-                 "SET mimetype=null, title=null,size=null,protected=null " .
-                 "WHERE id={$f->id}";
-            $f->query($sql);
+            $f->query(sprintf(
+                <<<'END'
+                UPDATE file
+                  SET mimetype = NULL, title = NULL, size = NULL,
+                      protected = NULL, modified = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
+                  WHERE id = %d
+                END,
+                $f->getID()
+            ));
             $f->decache();
             if ($data instanceof File_embed) {
                 $fetch = true;
@@ -144,12 +149,18 @@ while ($fn->fetch()) {
             echo "Found broken file with ";
         }
 
-        echo "ID: {$f->id}, URL {$f->url}\n";
+        echo "ID: {$f->getID()}, URL {$f->url}\n";
         if (!$dry) {
             $fetch = true;
-            $sql = "UPDATE file SET title=null, size=null, protected=null " .
-                 "WHERE id={$f->id}";
-            $f->query($sql);
+            $f->query(sprintf(
+                <<<'END'
+                UPDATE file
+                  SET title = NULL, size = NULL,
+                      protected = NULL, modified = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
+                  WHERE id = %d,
+                END,
+                $f->getID()
+            ));
             $f->decache();
 
             if ($data instanceof File_embed) {
@@ -159,7 +170,7 @@ while ($fn->fetch()) {
 
             if ($thumb instanceof File_thumbnail) {
                 // Delete all thumbnails, not just this one
-                $f->query("DELETE from file_thumbnail WHERE file_id = {$f->id}");
+                $f->query("DELETE FROM file_thumbnail WHERE file_id = {$f->getID()}");
                 $thumb->decache();
             }
         }
diff --git a/plugins/OStatus/scripts/update-profile.php b/plugins/OStatus/scripts/update-profile.php
index 7e2a58ff56..6f44217be7 100755
--- a/plugins/OStatus/scripts/update-profile.php
+++ b/plugins/OStatus/scripts/update-profile.php
@@ -109,9 +109,10 @@ if ($feedurl != $oprofile->feeduri || $salmonuri != $oprofile->salmonuri) {
     $ok = $oprofile->query(
         <<<END
         UPDATE ostatus_profile
-        SET feeduri   = '{$oprofile->escape($feedurl)}',
-            salmonuri = '{$oprofile->escape($salmonuri)}'
-        WHERE uri = '{$oprofile->escape($uri)}'
+          SET feeduri   = {$oprofile->_quote($feedurl)},
+              salmonuri = {$oprofile->_quote($salmonuri)},
+              modified  = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
+          WHERE uri = {$oprofile->_quote($uri)}
         END
     );
 
diff --git a/plugins/RSSCloud/lib/rsscloudnotifier.php b/plugins/RSSCloud/lib/rsscloudnotifier.php
index 21d9597302..b4d919f884 100644
--- a/plugins/RSSCloud/lib/rsscloudnotifier.php
+++ b/plugins/RSSCloud/lib/rsscloudnotifier.php
@@ -1,45 +1,39 @@
 <?php
+// This file is part of GNU social - https://www.gnu.org/software/social
+//
+// GNU social is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+// it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by
+// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+// (at your option) any later version.
+//
+// GNU social is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+// GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+// along with GNU social.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
 /**
- * StatusNet, the distributed open-source microblogging tool
- *
  * Class to ping an rssCloud endpoint when a feed has been updated
  *
- * PHP version 5
- *
- * LICENCE: This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
- * it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by
- * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
- * (at your option) any later version.
- *
- * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
- * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
- * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
- * GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
-   *
- * You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
- * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
- *
  * @category  Plugin
- * @package   StatusNet
+ * @package   GNUsocial
  * @author    Zach Copley <zach@status.net>
  * @copyright 2009 StatusNet, Inc.
- * @license   http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/agpl-3.0.html GNU Affero General Public License version 3.0
- * @link      http://status.net/
+ * @license   https://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl.html GNU AGPL v3 or later
  */
 
-if (!defined('STATUSNET')) {
-    exit(1);
-}
+defined('STATUSNET') || die();
 
 /**
  * Class for notifying cloud-enabled RSS aggregators that StatusNet
  * feeds have been updated.
  *
- * @category Plugin
- * @package  StatusNet
- * @author   Zach Copley <zach@status.net>
- * @license  http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/agpl-3.0.html GNU Affero General Public License version 3.0
- * @link     http://status.net/
+ * @category  Plugin
+ * @package   GNUsocial
+ * @author    Zach Copley <zach@status.net>
+ * @license   https://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl.html GNU AGPL v3 or later
  */
 class RSSCloudNotifier
 {
@@ -54,7 +48,7 @@ class RSSCloudNotifier
      *
      * @return boolean success
      */
-    function challenge($endpoint, $feed)
+    public function challenge($endpoint, $feed)
     {
         $code   = common_confirmation_code(128);
         $params = array('url' => $feed, 'challenge' => $code);
@@ -64,9 +58,11 @@ class RSSCloudNotifier
             $client   = new HTTPClient();
             $response = $client->get($url);
         } catch (Exception $e) {
-            common_log(LOG_INFO,
-                       'RSSCloud plugin - failure testing notify handler ' .
-                       $endpoint . ' - '  . $e->getMessage());
+            common_log(
+                LOG_INFO,
+                'RSSCloud plugin - failure testing notify handler '
+                . $endpoint . ' - ' . $e->getMessage()
+            );
             return false;
         }
 
@@ -110,7 +106,7 @@ class RSSCloudNotifier
      *
      * @return boolean success
      */
-    function postUpdate($endpoint, $feed)
+    public function postUpdate($endpoint, $feed)
     {
         $headers  = array();
         $postdata = array('url' => $feed);
@@ -147,7 +143,7 @@ class RSSCloudNotifier
      *
      * @return boolean success
      */
-    function notify($profile)
+    public function notify($profile)
     {
         $feed = common_path('api/statuses/user_timeline/') .
           $profile->id . '.rss';
@@ -180,18 +176,16 @@ class RSSCloudNotifier
      *
      * @return boolean success
      */
-    function handleFailure($cloudSub)
+    public function handleFailure($cloudSub)
     {
         $failCnt = $cloudSub->failures + 1;
 
         if ($failCnt == self::MAX_FAILURES) {
-
-            common_log(LOG_INFO,
-                       'Deleting RSSCloud subcription ' .
-                       '(max failure count reached), profile: ' .
-                       $cloudSub->subscribed .
-                       ' handler: ' .
-                       $cloudSub->url);
+            common_log(
+                LOG_INFO,
+                'Deleting RSSCloud subcription (max failure count reached), '
+                . "profile: {$cloudSub->subscribed} handler: {$cloudSub->url}"
+            );
 
             // XXX: WTF! ->delete() doesn't work. Clearly, there are some issues with
             // the DB_DataObject, or my understanding of it.  Have to drop into SQL.
@@ -216,18 +210,23 @@ class RSSCloudNotifier
 
             // XXX: ->update() not working either, gar!
 
-            $qry = 'UPDATE rsscloud_subscription' .
-              ' SET failures = ' . $failCnt .
-              ' WHERE subscribed = ' . $cloudSub->subscribed .
-              ' AND url = \'' . $cloudSub->url . '\'';
-
-            $result = $cloudSub->query($qry);
+            $result = $cloudSub->query(sprintf(
+                <<<'END'
+                UPDATE rsscloud_subscription
+                  SET failures = %1$d, modified = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
+                  WHERE subscribed = %2$d AND url = %3$s
+                END,
+                $failCnt,
+                $cloudSub->subscribed,
+                $cloudSub->_quote($cloudSub->url)
+            ));
 
             if (!$result) {
                 common_log_db_error($cloudsub, 'UPDATE', __FILE__);
-                common_log(LOG_ERR,
-                           'Could not update failure ' .
-                           'count on RSSCloud subscription');
+                common_log(
+                    LOG_ERR,
+                    'Could not update failure count on RSSCloud subscription'
+                );
             }
         }
     }
diff --git a/plugins/UserFlag/actions/clearflag.php b/plugins/UserFlag/actions/clearflag.php
index af61753095..ad1ad0d852 100644
--- a/plugins/UserFlag/actions/clearflag.php
+++ b/plugins/UserFlag/actions/clearflag.php
@@ -89,10 +89,14 @@ class ClearflagAction extends ProfileFormAction
     {
         $ufp = new User_flag_profile();
 
-        $result = $ufp->query('UPDATE user_flag_profile ' .
-                              'SET cleared = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ' .
-                              'WHERE cleared IS NULL ' .
-                              'AND profile_id = ' . $this->profile->id);
+        $result = $ufp->query(sprintf(
+            <<<'END'
+            UPDATE user_flag_profile
+              SET cleared = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP, modified = cleared
+              WHERE cleared IS NULL AND profile_id = %d
+            END,
+            $this->profile->getID()
+        ));
 
         if ($result === false) {
             // TRANS: Server exception given when flags could not be cleared.
diff --git a/scripts/strip_geo.php b/scripts/strip_geo.php
index 9cc7f8409c..0a232a7b68 100755
--- a/scripts/strip_geo.php
+++ b/scripts/strip_geo.php
@@ -104,10 +104,15 @@ if ($notice->N) {
             // but we're going to have to decache them individually anyway and
             // it doesn't hurt to make sure we don't hold up replication with
             // what might be a very slow single UPDATE.
-            $query = sprintf('UPDATE notice ' .
-                             'SET lat=NULL,lon=NULL,location_ns=NULL,location_id=NULL ' .
-                             'WHERE id=%d', $notice->id);
-            $ok = $update->query($query);
+            $ok = $update->query(sprintf(
+                <<<'END'
+                UPDATE notice
+                  SET lat = NULL, lon = NULL, location_ns = NULL, location_id = NULL
+                      modified = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
+                  WHERE id = %d
+                END,
+                $notice->getID()
+            ));
             if ($ok) {
                 // And now we decache him manually, as query() doesn't know what we're doing...
                 $orig->decache();
diff --git a/scripts/upgrade.php b/scripts/upgrade.php
index 8b384c02f0..1509dcb2b7 100755
--- a/scripts/upgrade.php
+++ b/scripts/upgrade.php
@@ -131,9 +131,16 @@ function fixupUserBadNulls(): void
 
         if ($user->find()) {
             while ($user->fetch()) {
-                $sql = "UPDATE {$user->escapedTableName()} SET {$col} = NULL "
-                     . "WHERE id = {$user->id}";
-                $user->query($sql);
+                $user->query(sprintf(
+                    <<<'END'
+                    UPDATE %1$s
+                      SET %2$s = NULL, modified = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
+                      WHERE id = %3$d
+                    END,
+                    $user->escapedTableName(),
+                    $col,
+                    $user->getID()
+                ));
             }
         }
     }
@@ -269,8 +276,12 @@ function fixupConversationURIs()
         while ($conv->fetch()) {
             $uri = common_local_url('conversation', ['id' => $conv->id]);
             $sql = sprintf(
-                'UPDATE conversation SET uri = \'%1$s\' WHERE id = %2$d;',
-                $conv->escape($uri),
+                <<<'END'
+                UPDATE conversation
+                  SET uri = %1$s, modified = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
+                  WHERE id = %2$d;
+                END,
+                $conv->_quote($uri),
                 $conv->id
             );
             $conv->query($sql);
@@ -310,7 +321,15 @@ function initGroupProfileId()
                 $profile->query('ROLLBACK');
                 throw new Exception('Profile insertion failed, profileurl: '.$profile->profileurl);
             }
-            $group->query("UPDATE user_group SET profile_id={$id} WHERE id={$group->id}");
+            $group->query(sprintf(
+                <<<'END'
+                UPDATE user_group
+                  SET profile_id = %1$d, modified = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
+                  WHERE id = %2$d
+                END,
+                $id,
+                $group->getID()
+            ));
             $profile->query('COMMIT');
 
             $profile->free();
@@ -400,18 +419,24 @@ function initSubscriptionURI()
     if ($sub->find()) {
         while ($sub->fetch()) {
             try {
+                $uri = Subscription::newUri(
+                    $sub->getSubscriber(),
+                    $sub->getSubscribed(),
+                    $sub->created
+                );
                 $sub->decache();
                 $sub->query(sprintf(
-                    'UPDATE subscription '.
-                    "SET uri = '%s' " .
-                    'WHERE subscriber = %d '.
-                      'AND subscribed = %d',
-                    $sub->escape(Subscription::newUri($sub->getSubscriber(), $sub->getSubscribed(), $sub->created)),
+                    <<<'END'
+                    UPDATE subscription
+                      SET uri = %1$s, modified = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
+                      WHERE subscriber = %2$d AND subscribed = %3$d
+                    END,
+                    $sub->_quote($uri),
                     $sub->subscriber,
                     $sub->subscribed
                 ));
             } catch (Exception $e) {
-                common_log(LOG_ERR, "Error updated subscription URI: " . $e->getMessage());
+                common_log(LOG_ERR, 'Error updating subscription URI: ' . $e->getMessage());
             }
         }
     }
@@ -429,13 +454,19 @@ function initGroupMemberURI()
     if ($mem->find()) {
         while ($mem->fetch()) {
             try {
+                $uri = Group_member::newUri(
+                    Profile::getByID($mem->profile_id),
+                    User_group::getByID($mem->group_id),
+                    $mem->created
+                );
                 $mem->decache();
                 $mem->query(sprintf(
-                    'UPDATE group_member '.
-                    "SET uri = '%s' " .
-                    'WHERE profile_id = %d ' .
-                      'AND group_id = %d',
-                    Group_member::newUri(Profile::getByID($mem->profile_id), User_group::getByID($mem->group_id), $mem->created),
+                    <<<'END'
+                    UPDATE group_member
+                      SET uri = %s, modified = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
+                      WHERE profile_id = %d AND group_id = %d
+                    END,
+                    $mem->_quote($uri),
                     $mem->profile_id,
                     $mem->group_id
                 ));
@@ -643,7 +674,7 @@ function fixupFileThumbnailUrlhash()
     $thumb = new File_thumbnail();
     $thumb->query(sprintf(
         'UPDATE %1$s ' .
-        'SET urlhash = %2$s ' .
+        'SET urlhash = %2$s, modified = CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ' .
         'WHERE url IS NOT NULL ' . // find all entries with a url value
         "AND url <> '' " .         // precaution against non-null empty strings
         'AND urlhash IS NULL',     // but don't touch those we've already calculated