This seems just like an argument about who Github Issues are for. Are they a community support forum, or a workflow tool for maintainers? Surely in both cases,

This seems just like an argument about who Github Issues are for. Are they a community support forum, or a workflow tool for maintainers? Surely in both cases, it's the maintainer's choice. Personally, I find stale bots are refreshing in their honesty about what people actually have capacity and willingness to chase down and solve. They definitely can improve life for maintainers by turning an issues list into a manageable workflow.