From the answers I see on Official FAQ on gender pronouns and Code of Conduct changes it seems like a lot of people are unhappy because they can't follow the grammar rules they learned back in English class, or because they find the changes ambiguous, or various other objections I see more commonly from people on the autistic spectrum.
I note also that there are a disproportionate number of folks on the autistic spectrum in tech, and we are probably more inclined than average to participate in online activities such as Stack Exchange.
I fear that this attempt to make (some) transgender individuals feel more welcome on Stack Exchange has had the unfortunate side effect of making a number of other individuals feel unsafe ("I might get banned for a natural mistake") and unwelcome ("they didn't consult"; "they didn't follow their own procedures"; "they don't care about my feelings/needs/desires/experiences").
And I strongly suspect that a disproportionate number of the affected individuals are on the autistic spectrum.
So my question here - was this demographic considered? Rules that make sense on forums not disproportionately autistic seem unlikely to make sense among hard core techies, who are well known for the numbers of geeks, nerds, etc. How are the moderators to distinguish between intentional insult and autistic rules following?
From where I sit, tech has gotten increasingly autistic-unfriendly over time. An awful lot of spokespeople for disadvantaged groups seem to think that autistic-friendly norms are keeping them out, and if only we'd all do small talk, wear fashionable clothes, and work in wide open spaces, we'd somehow reverse white male dominance in tech.
I'd prefer not to see Stack Exchange go the same route as most of the larger companies in Silicon Valley.