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Some people find the idea of ads in terminal software repulsive. Some people think it's a tolerable evil. NPM Inc. is not in either of these groups. NPM Inc. is a for-profit, VC-backed corporation, unlike every other language's package manager.
Over the last year or so, everyone who went along with a for-profit package registry has started to see what they voted for. The ecosystem's most critical tool is controlled by a privately-held for-profit entity whose incentives aren't fully aligned with package authors or users.
Contrast with Python's package registry, PyPI. It's run (mostly? Entirely?) by the Python Software Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit. Here's the packaging working group, operating in the open. No one gets rich; these people are saints. wiki.python.org/psf/PackagingWG
For anything community-related, your best bet is usually to start by copying whatever the Python people do. They're thoughtful and principled and have been doing this for a long time.
