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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “comment moderation recipients”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “comment moderation recipients”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

WP Comment Notification shows at wp.org #2 but places #11 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 oopspam Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for WordPress Forms & Comments (No CAPTCHA) 6K+ · 4.9★ (49) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Comment Moderation/Notification Recipients 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Notification – Custom Notifications and Alerts for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (124) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Meow Mailer – Free SMTP, Everything Included 800+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #4 5 FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses 8K+ · 4.9★ (93) wp.org #5 6 ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (20) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Activity Log Pro – User Activity Log, Audit Log & Security Monitor 400+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Yatra – Travel Booking & Tour Operator Software 600+ · 4.7★ (23) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Comment Experience by Progress Planner 500+ · 3.5★ (13) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 WP Comment Notification 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 9 too high 12 ZenCommunity — Real-Time Community Plugin with Messaging, Feeds, Live Chat & Support System 30+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 2 too low 13 Wedding Party RSVP – Guest List, Invitation & Event Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 Custom SMTP: Email Deliverability – FREE & Easy-to-use 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 Tiny Simple Admin Notice Silencer 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Emerge Mail 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Synth Antispam – AI Comment Spam Protection — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Product Roadmap 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 Logify – Activity Log, Audit Log, Event Log & User Activity Tracking 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 niftyConnect – Website Alerts via Messaging Apps & Email — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 21 Emerge Campaigns — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 RIACO Feedback – User Feedback, Feature Requests & Voting Board — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 Tanichev Email Deliverability Tester — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 NiroRoadmap – Public Product Roadmap & Kanban Board — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.