I think it makes your project look very bad if you are using a self-moderated thread to keep trolls and critics away.
If your project is legitimate, which I personally do not think it is, then you should silence your critics by addressing their concerns with factual evidence that can be independently verified. These kinds of self moderated threads only attract negative attention.
Unfortunately with red trust people tend to jump to conclusions and thus starts the bandwagon. We've continued to deliver and apparently that's not good enough so regardless of what we do it will always draw negative attention. A self moderated thread seems the best way to go.