Thank you for the link to Justine's post from 2016, @YetAnotherBeckyMumsnet. There are lots of brilliant bits aside from those you quoted. My favourite bits are:
Mumsnet has always believed - been founded upon - the idea that civilised debate is a broadly positive thing. That we can disagree but agree that people have a right to different opinions. That freedom of speech is in general good and that we'd rather let the conversation flow than censor it.
... there are always going to be posts which fall into a grey area - posts that cause offence without intention, perhaps by using words in common use that some believe should be disallowed ... And our inclination here is to err on the side of free speech rather than censorship.
We do understand it can be frustrating being told that we'd rather host a debate about why something was offensive so folks might change their mind, than delete it.
At a time when the rise of intersectional politics often seems to be squeezing the space for public debate, when no-platforming has entered the everyday vocabulary of university campuses and social media reverberates daily to howls of outrage over some linguistic transgression or other, this seems more important than ever.
We understand how anxious many who’ve battled for women’s rights feel. We understand that language plays an important part in making them feel marginalised and vulnerable.
In an increasingly polarised world of trigger warnings and safe spaces, preserving Mumsnet as a place that can host the widest debate in the most civilised fashion seems more important than ever. You’ll have to forgive me if this sounds pompous but this really is about freedom. As so often George Orwell put it best: “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”
It would be completely disingenuous for MNHQ to pretend that their position now is the same as it was in November 2016 when this post was written - over a year and a half before the Special Rules came into effect. Even the quote you have chosen from Justine's post does not reflect the situation as it is now -
We're mindful of the fact that many of our users are exhausted and often in impossibly difficult situations and would much rather people just understood or piped down - that we just deleted those comments which upset them or banned those who made them. But rightly or wrongly, that's not the Mumsnet we've chosen to be.
You've deleted loads of comments from regular posters because they upset certain people and you are apparently now banning long term posters too. From what I can make out this is in response to 'howls of outrage over some linguistic transgression or other' - to quote Justine.
If you're no longer interested in hosting a feminism board and would prefer instead to 'showcase the full range of opinion' on The Trans Debate then please say so honestly and please change the title of the topic so that nobody inadvertently posts on a board they think is to do with feminism, but isn't.