I have searched for "ga.js" & "analytics" in the Ligttable repository, nothing came up. So I assume you mean it's Atom that comes with GA tracking enabled by default.
Why does Atom send usage data to Google Analytics?
In the same way that aggregate usage information is important when developing a web application, we've found that it's just as important for desktop applications, especially during the beta program. By knowing which Atom features are being used the most, and how the editor is performing, we can focus our development efforts in the right place. For details on what data Atom is sending or to learn how to disable metrics gathering, visit https://github.com/atom/metrics.
It is unfortunate they've chosen opt-out. This is a tool for developers by developers. Are devs really cool with this, collecting information about them (even if it's anonymized) without their explicit consent?
Regardless of who will be the users, opt-in is the civilized and respectful way for this sort of thing.
I would think that devs would be the most okay with this concept, as they are the only ones that understand what data may or may not actually be transmitted, and the data collection goes towards helping people in the same seat (albeit different projects) as the maker of this product, developers.
Given that analytics really does let the authors fix problems and inefficiencies that users are having I would imagine people should "be cool" with it.
Why does Atom send usage data to Google Analytics?
In the same way that aggregate usage information is important when developing a web application, we've found that it's just as important for desktop applications, especially during the beta program. By knowing which Atom features are being used the most, and how the editor is performing, we can focus our development efforts in the right place. For details on what data Atom is sending or to learn how to disable metrics gathering, visit https://github.com/atom/metrics.