Community update and some personal confessions • page 1/1 • L1Chess Tools Users Team • lichess.org

## Stats

So, the Google dashboard shows... 14389 users. That's... amazing! Humbling even. Only it does look suspicious, because the number of installs (about 40-50 per day) has remained constant. Apparently, the jump of 4000 users in a month is actually because Chrome pushed profile extension syncing harder, so a lot of new computers got the extension because they synced with accounts used on older computers.

However, on the installation page, the number of users show 10000. That was strange, since until now it showed the number of users rounded to 1000. Apparently, once you jump the 10k threshold, Google counts you differently, in marketing buckets, so the next jump there will be when we get to over 50k and my hair is gray. No, I am kidding. My hair fell down and what's left of it is gray already.

The average rating is interesting to Google, too. It now sits at 4.82 from 102 ratings, mostly because of two 1 star ratings (from which at least one is just trolling). But fear not, Google uses Bayesian modelling and excludes outliers like that. So for them, LiChess Tools appears as safe, useful and promotable.

So apparently, most of the people installing the extension don't hear of it from friends or Lichess forums, but from the Chrome extension recommendations. Which is weird, because I never noticed those. I am not actively pursuing new extensions, so maybe that's why. But 10k+ users, a rating close - but not too close - to 5 and a consistent install ratio seems to make my extension favorable to Chrome, so that's good.

But the most telling information of all, the one that actually matters to ME, is that after I publish a new update, the next day I see around 4000-5000 people using the new version. These are the "core", the "community" of LiChess Tools active users. To you, I thank you and remind you that I am here for you. Whatever you need, you just ask. I may not do what you want ':-) but I assure you I am listening and, when I have the resources, working on it.

## Wonderings

That being said, I wonder if more people using the extension is a good thing. It pushes me to thoughts of "how can I see what these people are doing?" or "what if just 2% of these people would give me store ratings?", which frankly I don't like. There is a reason why this extension doesn't send any usage data and is completely free and has no marketing. This way lies "like and subscribe" [shudder].

ChatGPT tells me I should add little nudges in the extension to show added value, increase engagement and retention, get ratings. I feel immediate disgust at these recommendations.

But at the same time I have to wonder: Am I doing the right thing? Maybe I should push more aggressively, get more opinions, spread this to as many people as possible. After all, if I believe - which I do - that this brings value to the life of people, it's criminal not to make efforts to push it to as many people as possible.

It's a strange feeling, like that of a reluctant villain who just has to conquer the world because the analytics and common sense demand it.

I am also struggling to clarify the direction in which LiChess Tools should be moving. Is it still just a collection of helpful little tools or is it now an "app", needing a purpose and an identity? Are you just a bunch of isolated chess players or a community of people who need to grow together? Am I thinking too highly of myself when I am a useless moron, or do I have some agency in deciding this?

## How about you?

I would love to hear your thoughts on all of this!

I would love to hear any thoughts at all, actually. Is chess just a casual game for you? Are you addicted to it? Do you want to improve or it doesn't even matter? Do you gain pleasure from playing or just from winning, or maybe losing? Do you even care what people write on forums and chats and stuff? Because honestly I have no idea, and I would love to know what makes you tick and how I can help improve your life.

Anyway, ramblings over. Hope to hear from you.

P.S. when you see "## something", imagine in your head that it's a nice little title header. It helps with visualization, which will make you win more chess games, I kid you not!

I've done a more careful analysis of the numbers shown for the usage of the LiChess Tools extension. I thought I would share it, since I don't do this often. I am going to talk about the Google store, even if the extension is used by about 10% of people from Firefox or Edge stores. ## Stats So, the Google dashboard shows... 14389 users. That's... amazing! Humbling even. Only it does look suspicious, because the number of installs (about 40-50 per day) has remained constant. Apparently, the jump of 4000 users in a month is actually because Chrome pushed profile extension syncing harder, so a lot of new computers got the extension because they synced with accounts used on older computers. However, on the installation page, the number of users show 10000. That was strange, since until now it showed the number of users rounded to 1000. Apparently, once you jump the 10k threshold, Google counts you differently, in marketing buckets, so the next jump there will be when we get to over 50k and my hair is gray. No, I am kidding. My hair fell down and what's left of it is gray already. The average rating is interesting to Google, too. It now sits at 4.82 from 102 ratings, mostly because of two 1 star ratings (from which at least one is just trolling). But fear not, Google uses Bayesian modelling and excludes outliers like that. So for them, LiChess Tools appears as safe, useful and promotable. So apparently, most of the people installing the extension don't hear of it from friends or Lichess forums, but from the Chrome extension recommendations. Which is weird, because I never noticed those. I am not actively pursuing new extensions, so maybe that's why. But 10k+ users, a rating close - but not too close - to 5 and a consistent install ratio seems to make my extension favorable to Chrome, so that's good. But the most telling information of all, the one that actually matters to ME, is that after I publish a new update, the next day I see around 4000-5000 people using the new version. These are the "core", the "community" of LiChess Tools active users. To you, I thank you and remind you that I am here for you. Whatever you need, you just ask. I may not do what you want ':-) but I assure you I am listening and, when I have the resources, working on it. ## Wonderings That being said, I wonder if more people using the extension is a good thing. It pushes me to thoughts of "how can I see what these people are doing?" or "what if just 2% of these people would give me store ratings?", which frankly I don't like. There is a reason why this extension doesn't send any usage data and is completely free and has no marketing. This way lies "like and subscribe" [shudder]. ChatGPT tells me I should add little nudges in the extension to show added value, increase engagement and retention, get ratings. I feel immediate disgust at these recommendations. But at the same time I have to wonder: Am I doing the right thing? Maybe I should push more aggressively, get more opinions, spread this to as many people as possible. After all, if I believe - which I do - that this brings value to the life of people, it's criminal not to make efforts to push it to as many people as possible. It's a strange feeling, like that of a reluctant villain who just has to conquer the world because the analytics and common sense demand it. I am also struggling to clarify the direction in which LiChess Tools should be moving. Is it still just a collection of helpful little tools or is it now an "app", needing a purpose and an identity? Are you just a bunch of isolated chess players or a community of people who need to grow together? Am I thinking too highly of myself when I am a useless moron, or do I have some agency in deciding this? ## How about you? I would love to hear your thoughts on all of this! I would love to hear any thoughts at all, actually. Is chess just a casual game for you? Are you addicted to it? Do you want to improve or it doesn't even matter? Do you gain pleasure from playing or just from winning, or maybe losing? Do you even care what people write on forums and chats and stuff? Because honestly I have no idea, and I would love to know what makes you tick and how I can help improve your life. Anyway, ramblings over. Hope to hear from you. P.S. when you see "## something", imagine in your head that it's a nice little title header. It helps with visualization, which will make you win more chess games, I kid you not!