Github stars are a distribution channel, which leads to awareness, and drives adoption.
Also, it's an informal social proof, which drives trust. The more stars, the more legit something seems.
Also, it's an informal social proof, which drives trust. The more stars, the more legit something seems.
My personal experience is that most stars on my projects come from empty accounts that star random stuff to avoid getting detected when they star the projects that paid.
Regardless, imperfect as it is, a GH project with 20k stars feels more credible than one with 200.
(I write this as someone who works full time on a GH repo with 200 stars! :D)