I'm guessing the reason the repository is so popular is that people are worried about what Microsoft might do after acquiring GitHub. Things like... censoring content they disapprove of, for example.

Do you think Microsoft ordered them to remove this repo, or that their existing moderation team did?

It seems likely to me that a few people might have reported the issue editing stuff to GitHub, and that could've triggered this honestly.

If I could figure out how I would report the repo.

I imagine: https://github.com/contact/report-abuse

Worried people are free to choose another service provider.

This is just childish show of immature people.

Commercial business did commercial M&A with another business.

Those people are trying to do outcry for something they never owned.

If there was no network effect, sure.

But because there is worried people have to make sure enough leave the platform to destroy that network effect.