wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “trolls”

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 “trolls”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 of the top 20. 6 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

Advanced Comment Control shows at wp.org #13 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #1 2

Zero Spam for WordPress 20K+ · 4.1★ (143) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #2 3

RumbleTalk Group Chat for Communities & Live Events 600+ · 3.4★ (21) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #3 4

Extra User Data 60+ · 4.5★ (6) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Crowd Control by Postmatic – Comment moderation decentralized 20+ · 5.0★ (2) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #8 3 too low 6

Olark Live Chat 1K+ · 2.5★ (2) thin reviewslow rating, top placement wp.org #4 2 too high 7

LLM Moderator For wpForo — · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #7 8

Products Wizard Lite for WooCommerce 10+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #6 2 too high 9

Amir Social Comments WordPress — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #9 10

The Readefined.com Troll Filter — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviewsstale but ranked wp.org #10 11 D Disable Cookbook Ratings — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #12 1 too low 12

Universal Social Reputation — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #14 2 too low 13

Commenter Ignore Button 10+ · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #11 2 too high 14

Comment Moderation Highlighter 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #15 1 too low 15 T Troll Hunter by Gavagai — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #18 3 too low 16 W WP-PAT-Twitter Facilitator Plugin — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #20 4 too low 17 G Glitterific Comment Translator — · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #16 1 too high 18 H Hikari Featured Comments 10+ · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #21 3 too low 19

FeenBan — · 5.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #17 2 too high 20 T Turulmeme shares — · 0.0★ (0) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #22 2 too low 21

Kripto Para Dönüştürücü ve Döviz Hesaplama 40+ · 3.5★ (2) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #19 2 too high 22

Advanced Comment Control 10+ · 3.0★ (1) closure risk thin reviews wp.org #13 9 too high

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.