Yes. And that’s not because people are abusing README.md, but because abusing README.md is the only way for most projects to improve most first impressions for their project.
First of all, even if that were true, it wouldn't matter. If a project author is participating in the culture that involves the compulsion "to improve most first impressions for their project", that's just the toxic culture associated with traditional social media projected into a different venue, except it has a facade of respectability that keeps people from calling it out in the way people call out Instagram bullshit.
Secondly, it's not true. Don't care about the deleterious effects that comes from overvaluing social media impressions? Want to take part in that messed up, Black Mirror-esque world anyway? Take all that junk you're shoving into the README and put it on a real landing page. No one is forcing anyone to link people to the GitHub repo for first impressions.
Right, it was clear by the previous comments that you've figured out that low-effort spurious remarks pay off double since they sap energy from anyone foolish enough to try to address them while costing almost nothing on your end to make.
Not at all. I responded candidly with my own perspective and you took the most uncharitable interpretation and twice (now thrice) treated me as if I was responding as venomously as you are. I have abusive family and exes for that, I don’t need it from strangers.
Secondly, it's not true. Don't care about the deleterious effects that comes from overvaluing social media impressions? Want to take part in that messed up, Black Mirror-esque world anyway? Take all that junk you're shoving into the README and put it on a real landing page. No one is forcing anyone to link people to the GitHub repo for first impressions.