Everyone I talk to is thrilled with the module usage stats provided now by d.o.
I have an idea for another metric that I think would be very helpful to people evaluating modules. The goal of this metric is to evaluate the level of engagement of the project maintainers in the project.
Number of commits and posts to issue queue by project maintainers/number of posts to issue queue by everyone else.
You might say... sometimes there are non-maintainers who help people out and so the maintainer doesn't need to post much because he/she has the informal help of others active in the queue. That would give that module a poorer engagement stat than it deserves. Fair enough. But still, the stat isn't lying; it's not making a judgement, it's just reporting engagnement. And maybe the existence of the stat might nudge maintainers to do more reaching out to bring on co-maintainers from the active people in the queue.
This stat on its own wouldn't be a reason to use or not use a module. However, I do often find that what I'm trying to figure out is how engaged the maintainer is. And it's not always easy.
Now that I think of it, the project maintainers are not even listed formally on the project page! That, at least, should be a no-brainer.
I'm interested in what people think about this.
Shai