As an average Wordpress user, I refuse to install anything that doesnt have a minimum of 4/5 stars and they have to be averaged over a minimum of 500 ratings. Anything less is almost guaranteed to be either dodgy, useless, or both.

I won't even click the info link unless I see it's 4/5, and simply click 'back' the moment I get to a plugin page if there are < 200 ratings.

Installing junk plugins just to immediatedy uninstall them, grows old fast, so if it isn't a top rated plug-in, it doesn't matter if a dozen or so staffers try to rig the votes, if it's crap, it'll show that in the number of low votes it has, and I - personally - will simply not bother if I detect any kind of dodgyness.

Live's too short to waste time installing shitty software - of any type.