[wp-meta] [Making WordPress.org] #7648: Stop weighing active installations in plugin search heavily

[Making WordPress.org]

#7648: Stop weighing active installations in plugin search heavily
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 Reporter:  Cybr              |       Owner:  (none)
     Type:  defect (bug)      |      Status:  new
 Priority:  normal            |   Milestone:  Improved Search
Component:  Plugin Directory  |  Resolution:
 Keywords:                    |
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Comment (by Cybr):

 Replying to [comment:3 gibrown]:

 > The user is trying to solve a problem and plugins that have a larger
 install count are much more likely to provide good long term support.

 This is not true. Please provide evidence and studies on this.

 The truth is that most plugins above 1 million installs are spyware, and
 serve the developer’s best interest (i.e., limit functionality to
 incentivize spending). They got there by perpetually being ranked first
 because of the number of installs, or otherwise illegally promoted through
 pre-installations and featured listings.

 > There are also a number of other factors used in the alg that help newer
 plugins improve their rankings (support thread resolution, ratings, etc).

 Never have I experienced this benefit; only the opposite. It’s forcing
 free labor, causing ill actors to spam the “resolved” checkbox, and
 annoying users by asking them for reviews.

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Ticket URL: <https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/7648#comment:4>
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