Updates #3 and #6 are obvious, and I'm surprised it even needs to be mentioned. Updates #4 & #5 were long overdue, so thanks for tackling those issues.
I hope Update #2 does not impact posts that contain legitimate negative criticisms of a product or brand.
And as for Update #1, can't say I agree with this. In fact, it seems like an attempt to sweep criticisms of the mod team under the rug. There have been a few recent user bans that have left a lot of people questioning why that user got banned (The little blurb placed in the banned user's profile is sometimes not sufficient). There have also been some recent posts that appear to be ban worthy, but the mods take no action. I rarely report posts to the moderators, but when I do, and no action is taken, I'm left wondering why the user was not moderated. Now you're saying that we can't ask these questions in the forum unless it's in the dedicated mod performance thread or easily ignorable PMs?