The original author (who is also the leading maintainer of httpx, another huge package) started a crusade against male-dominated spaces such as... Github issues and discussions.

>So… sharing the source isn’t the problem here. The issue is the GitHub working environment. I’m not interested in the smokey boys-only-club atmosphere, it feels starkly unprofessional.

>We’re not having any more conversation in all-male online spaces. Not happening.

It looks like 3 weeks ago a similar change happened in httpx - github discussions were disabled. https://github.com/encode/httpx/discussions/3784

>I don't want to continue allowing an online environment with such an absurdly skewed gender representation. I find it intensely unwelcoming, and it's not reflective of the type of working environments I value.

As a mkdocs user and a httpx user I find that concerning - I hope personal issues won't harm those projects long term (well it looks like mkdocs is already dead).