You fix your misunderstanding, look at the picture at the top of the article.

I see the graph. When I first read it, I instantly inferred from that graph that they simply were adjusting to the lichess platform because (1) everybody starts with a rating of 1200 on chess.com and 1500 on lichess--the two biggest chess playing sites by far--so you naturally 'raise your rating' if you're simply better than the website's guess at average and (2) it just takes a bit of adjustment to a new platform.

It is good etiquette to request a resignation in chat?

Lichess matches people by rating, so on average, if I blunder my way into a large deficit, my opponent may just as well blunder me out of it.

> It is good etiquette to request a resignation in chat?

Not a chance. People at lower ratings screw up what should be wins all the time. Your opponent may be hoping for a stalemate or to run out the clock or waiting for you to blunder.