[Handprint4469]

Isn't this the case for most programming languages' package indices? crates.io for Rust, the NPM registry for Javascript, etc. They are all public in the sense that anyone can just create an account and upload a package.

[lmm]

Maven Central is notoriously fiddly to get an account for - it require a manual registration step and you have to GPG-sign all your packages. Seems like that barrier to entry may have been useful.