I really don't know what to make of this. I would have to see it in action because typically stuff has just been enforced so inconsistently. I've refrained from namecalling as 1) it's unnecessary (can win arguments without it) and 2) I assumed it was already banned - or at least, people would complain and mark all the time like it was anyway. And that's really why I suspect this announcement has been made.
Seems like a lot more work for the mods.
In a way, I can see it being easier for them. If the queue's already full of complaints about namecalling, it's easier for them to just take down everything rather than question and spend time thinking about whether it's serious enough to take down.
Maybe this was in an early announcement because it was one of the fastest things they could agree on. I'd feel sorry for them if this came first by order of importance...if namecalling is seen as one of the biggest issues on the site, it would suggest there's better things they could be doing with their time. When they say "we can't get to the serious stuff that's been up for hours, if not days, because we're just so busy" and the priority rule change is placed on namecalling, are they truly swamped?
Especially with the political climate lately, it's probably never been easier to feign genuine beliefs that are reprehensible while trying to play coy about what they're really supporting, baiting people to call them "racist" or something even more extreme, then just marking all that and laughing as those people get in trouble. And when you build up a history in a community of that, it's all the easier, because you can go extreme for a bit, establish a history, a reputation, and then need only lightly poke at that and hint to it from then on. Mods won't pick up on what they're doing but the troll's intended audience certainly will.
I'm surprised you're saying this but I think this is something we can agree on.
I guess the California-invented concept of "misgendering" is still not a violation.
Uh, what? Mods have specifically enforced that stuff.
Tl;dr. How long did it take you to prepare all that?