@HebeMumsnet 's a star - and I like her sense of humour - btw the stationary cupboard is really nice. I also found another potential Gulag site as well:)
Seriously - the mods are obviously doing a great job and are under pressure - the problem is I don't understand what pressure. IE where is the increased moderation workload coming from? Who/what is causing that? All I read is it's us - which tbh doesn't make sense. So there must be something else at play.
I put a post up regarding weaponising the complaints system and the importance of discerning between usual complainants, unusually persistent complainants and unusually, unreasonable complainants. Many organisations, including the police, find an increasing percentage of their workload is being spent on complaints generated by the latter group (who use agents like MPs, media etc to create rolling thunder trains). I can't help but think this may be at play here with the MN workload - that a very small group, largely external, are causing enormous amounts of work, by weaponising the complaints system and bringing others agents into play to amplify their unreasonable demands.
Therefore MN are cowed into thinking they have a problem with the FWR board and must therefore "tone it down" to stop it becoming a focus of media reports and speculation. MN won't want that constant media spotlight and unrelenting accusations of "transphobic MN" and also won't want to be in the firing line for a vexatious legal case brought by said group against them - it's not good for their brand.
The solution other organisations have found to the issue I outlined is to treat that minority group differently i.e. to handle them differently to the other two categories, often by firmly rebutting their assertions. It is also recommended to stop access to services for those complainants. The worse thing to do is try and appease them as they use that to flood the organisation with even more unreasonable demands. Organisations have to develop frameworks to deal with these types.
I think what's happening is a small group of unreasonable TRA complainants, like MRAs, are using other platforms to amplify their unreasonable demands and to bring pressure on MN. It won't get any easier until a court case is brought to sort out the legal framework. In the meantime MN want to get out of the spotlight and can't.
I don't see any answer other than firstly for us, as a whole, to ignore the provocations from Twitter and the media outlets and stop referring to them/posting about them (unless they are serious e.g. the recent doxxing). In other words, we don't become part of their orchestrated amplification. Secondly for us to focus on the main goal of discussing and preparing the arguments that refute the unreasonable assertions, as a legal case will come about soon, one way or the other. Thirdly to play the ball not the person even in SG's case. Talk about the lobbying behaviour of the organisation and the undue influence rather than the person(s). Take the identities out of the equation. Fourthly ignore known sealions.
From MN's perspective, not entertaining the claims of transphobia would be helpful - we largely do self mod reasonably well and I am amazed at the engagement and openness of diverse views here on FWR. Much provocation comes from sealioning and coercive control - as there are trolls who deliberately inflame and provoke (as in DV) by dismissing, ignoring, downplaying and minimising reasonable points of view- it would be good to see some OPs banned for those tactics - these are the concern trolls who don't contribute anything to the discussions but do inflame and unfortunately as in DV, the genuine OP can look like the problem as they are provoked unreasonably by unrelenting, covert, coercive control tactics. Perhaps some of this is being projected at the mods or being displayed in heated exchanges - a normal response to those tactics.
I can only manage myself by disengaging as soon as I feel angry - doesn't always work and can result in more stationery cupboard banishments through discharging it thru humour - but that's an easy price to pay - i.e. if some threads are "sin binned"!