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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “profanity filter”

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 “profanity filter”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 4 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

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

Intercessor shows at wp.org #11 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 10+ 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.

Buried gem

FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses places #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 96 reviews, but shows at wp.org #8. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Better Search – Relevant search results for WordPress 5K+ · 4.4★ (61) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Content Censor 600+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 CM Search And Replace – Optimize content edits with a powerful search and replace tool 2K+ · 4.2★ (15) wp.org #3 4 FluentCommunity – Ultra-Fast High-Performance Social Network, Community, LMS & Online Courses 8K+ · 4.8★ (96) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 Wbcom Designs – Private Community for BuddyPress 300+ · 4.9★ (25) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Chatroll Live Chat 200+ · 4.0★ (5) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 WProofreader spell & grammar check plugin for WordPress 4K+ · 3.7★ (15) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Product Reviews & Photo Reviews for WooCommerce – Yuko 100+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Wbcom Designs – BuddyPress Activity Social Share 400+ · 4.2★ (19) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Comments by FastComments – Live, Privacy-First Comment System 30+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #16 5 too low 12 Helpfulcrowd Product Reviews 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Wbcom Designs – BuddyPress Job Manager 100+ · 3.8★ (5) wp.org #17 4 too low 14 DiscusHub — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 LobbyChat 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Intercessor 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 5 too high 17 WebMate AI Assistant — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 Mega Backing — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 19 SafeComments — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 Askora – Product Questions & Answers for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 21 Hyoka – Product Reviews, Photo Reviews, Customer Reviews & Testimonials for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 Respectify — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 Live Center – Live-Blogging Solution 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓2 24 Post Filter 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2

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.