I'm another FWR lurker, have seldom posted here, but looking back over the board I can see that I've opened at least a third of recent threads (admittedly as they cropped up on active convos) so the subject matter is clearly interesting to me. But yes, it often comes across as something of a 'closed shop' here, with a limited group of regulars who have 'seen the light' despairing at anyone who disagrees with them. People who continue to disagree about the basic 'agreed truths' can only be goady fuckers or trolls. It's possibly I'm basing that judgement more on FWR of a year or so ago, and I'd be happy to give things more of a chance here now.
I'm not intimidated by it, but it can be incredibly tedious - just as much as the 'fight club' aggression on AIBU. I hid the Doghouse a few years back for the same reason (and because I'm not a dog person, it must be said). Having a reasonable discussion on something is about respecting each person's views, not writing them off altogether because a newbie doesn't happen to subscribe 100% to the perceived wisdom on the boards here. I'm appalled - but not surprised - by the number of posters today who've been saying the same thing - that they identify as a feminist and support feminist goals, but that the atmosphere on FWR Chat is not something they feel comfortable with. What a pity, and a wasted chance. I live a fairly feminist life in practice (kept my own name, have my own business, only shave my legs if I really feel like it, stand up to misogynists in RL, etc), I don't feel the need to go out and read a pile of Dworkin on top of that as some sort of affirmation.
The threads that have horrified me most over the last year (can't remember the exact dates, unfortunately): firstly a discussion on the Amnesty prostitution debacle, which as usual deteriorated into a slagging-off session against prostitutes. Several times women came on to present the prostitute point of view and were shouted down each time - essentially it came across as a fairly middle-class, educated, privileged group of feminists telling prostitutes what they should be thinking and telling them how to behave. Way to go with the disempowerment of already disempowered members of society! Now I'm absolutely not in favour of prostitution generally, whether male or female, it's obviously deeply founded in exploitation, but if a prostitute says s/he is doing it voluntarily and is OK with it, why do you automatically assume that must poster be a troll or a plant by MRAs? Why are you depriving them of their agency
The other thing that peeved me was the transactivism discussion. Yeah, I get that there are a few very public transactivists who are quite confrontational about feminists and cis women , but in response feminists are coming across as quite aggressively anti-transpeople generally. Which, again, is not the answer.
The general impression of contemporary feminism is all a bit 'People's Front of Judea' with splinter groups and alliances and in-talk rather than genuine, open, welcoming discussion of individual views. Apologies for being so honest about this.