[wp-meta] [Making WordPress.org] #6511: Bring back the active install growth chart

[Making WordPress.org]

#6511: Bring back the active install growth chart
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 Reporter:  markzahra         |       Owner:  (none)
     Type:  enhancement       |      Status:  new
 Priority:  high              |   Milestone:
Component:  Plugin Directory  |  Resolution:
 Keywords:                    |
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Comment (by carlhancock):

 Replying to [comment:54 dlocc]:
 > Replying to [comment:35 matt]:
 > > Replying to [comment:21 joppuyo]:
 > > > I guess only issue I see if these kinds of services put unreasonable
 pressure on w.org servers. I’m not familiar with the terms of service of
 the API.
 > >
 > > As has been pointed out, there was never an API made for public use or
 with any promise of availability, people just reverse engineered and
 exfiltrated the data to create the chart.
 > >
 > > I definitely think we can show some more stats to plugin authors about
 their own plugins, and I'm hearing that for newer plugins every new
 install can be a motivator. Feedback loops are important. It will take
 some work but it's doable.
 >
 > I reiterate what many others have said before me: The chart shouldn't
 have been removed in the first place without more transparency and
 discussion.
 >
 > However, I am encouraged when I read ''"I definitely think we can show
 some more stats to plugin authors about their own plugins, and I'm hearing
 that for newer plugins every new install can be a motivator"''. At least
 this tells me there's some hope we'll get back the data we lost, and
 potentially more data in the future.
 >
 > I do have to temper this hopefulness, though, due to the mere fact that
 it seems WP.org leadership and Automattic seem to be working more
 ''against'' the community than ''with'' the community lately. It's an
 unfortunate feeling and I'm obviously not alone.

 These stats weren't just valuable to plugin developers.

 They were also key stats that are also used by WordPress users that use
 this data to make decisions on what plugins to use.  They directly play
 into decision-making on which solution to use.

 Every time I've installed a plugin from the repo I always check this data
 to see what it's trajectory looks like.

 I don't want to get into using a plugin in the repo if it appears to be on
 a downward trend (along with other data points such as reviews, etc.) to
 evaluate solutions I want to rely on from a business standpoint to power
 my web site.

 This information isn't just about plugin devs evaluating their plugin
 performance.  It's also about users evaluating the plugin performance.

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Ticket URL: <https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/6511#comment:55>
Making WordPress.org <https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/>
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