To me it seemed like they had incompatible visions (SQLite wants to work in 2050 in the contexts it's been traditionally used in, libsql wants to modernize and lean into the more recent use cases) and so a fork was the appropriate and inevitable course of action.
Given that SQLite isn't really open to contribution (one of libsql's frustrations) it doesn't really worry me that they didn't & don't have a clear code of conduct. To me, digging through the repository [ETA: the website, rather] for what amounts to a cringey Easter egg and then linking to it as if it were a serious issue is uncalled for. To be honest, I think the complaints shouldn't stayed out of their announcement entirely - they have a legitimately cool vision for what their fork could be, and the complaints were only a distraction.
