Please navigate to the ethicality and legality section if you have concerns about data privacy regarding this repository.
Check out my detailed write-up about this project on my blog: https://arhan.sh/blog/my-github-repository-has-100000-contributors/
Your eyes don't deceive you. This repository has exactly 100,000 contributors! If you are on GitHub mobile, the number may not appear. You have to view this repository through GitHub's web UI.
Though, you probably see a number close to 99,986 contributors. This is because the rest are represented by 14 icons right above that number. In the case that you see a bit less than 99,986 contributors, I think it's because changing email addresses can cause the exact number to fluctuate.
As you could probably guess, 100,000 people didn't actually contribute to this repository. I accidentally discovered some time ago that if you co-author a GitHub user on a commit, they're unconditionally and permanently added as a contributor to the repository. I wrote a script that utilizes the GitHub GraphQL API to collect and co-author GitHub users in commits on this repository.
Check out everyone.sh and index.mjs. Make sure you read their docstrings and understand the implications of personal use.
The primary reason for the inclusion of this section is the fact that you need to include a GitHub user's name and email address in a commit message for them to be listed as a contributor for this repository.
Please be aware that this repository primarily contains "users.noreply.github.com" private email addresses that are only valid within GitHub. In essence, most of the email addresses hosted by this repository cannot be used for email harvesting or spamming purposes. Please also be aware that a small amount of real email addresses were committed at the beginning, but only for testing purposes. I believe that this amount is small enough to be insignificant and inconsequential.
I have thoroughly read through GitHub's Acceptable Use Policies on Impersonation, Spam and Inauthentic Activity, Information Usage Restrictions, API Terms, and Excessive Bandwidth Use. I am not a lawyer by any means, but I believe this repository complies wth these regulations. I hope you can understand that I take privacy very seriously and that my intentions are nothing more than educational.
If you still have concerns regarding this repository, please email me at "arhan[dot]ch[at]gmail[dot]com"