If I recall, the flak wasn't around handing off the package. The flack was for the lack of due diligence in picking a new maintainer. The same risks are present for sure but at least the process is taking place in the open.
Yeah, it was this really. The author had largely abandoned the project, someone emailed him asking for it (who had no github presence whatsoever), and the author obliged.
Here, there's in theory the effort that the people being given the project have been more vetted and have to have some amount of github presence to get a repo.
