I agree with your point, and am only responding to the last sentence.
Starring can be useful to the starer. They are just counted because it is countable. Whether you find the number meaningful remains up to you.
Besides, stars != installs, these days they're a popularity contest at the level of Facebook likes, not a measure of a project's success.
Let's wait for the explorers to return.
Besides, stars != installs, these days they're a popularity contest at the level of Facebook likes, not a measure of a project's success.
Let's wait for the explorers to return.