Not entirely the usual fare, but i figured some here would appreciate it
I often rag on the js/node/npm ecosystem for being utter garbage, and this post is a quite a full demonstration of many of the shortcomings and outright total design failures present in that space
The commenters on HN and lobste.rs are generally on the side of the package creators, with the view that NPM is run by GitHub, who is owned by Microsoft. All this is true, but it doesn't follow from that that the NPM people are paid fuck-you money. I suspect they're understaffed, and overworked, and that this stunt didn't make them very happy.
Although in retrospect, not anticipating that some rando would try to depend on everything in the repository seems like a naive view on human nature.
If they are understaffed - Microsoft is trying to sell itself as OSS friendly, so they have absolutely zero excuse for not putting enough resources into something this load-bearing and this historically shitty.
If they are well-funded, what the fuck is that money being spent on, ChatNPM?
Npm was acquired by GitHub in 2020. It has been an utter dumpster fire for its entire history. Being acquired by Microsoft doesn't absolve you from having created the tool Satan the Lord of Hell will use to break the Seventh Seal and bring upon a thousand years of darkness upon humanity.