Initially I thought this change wasn't so controversial and found myself even agreeing with the decision but I changed my mind after reading some discussion here.

This changes Bitcointalk and how we can view it as a whole. It goes beyond just mixers. An important remark made by people in this thread already is that Bitcointalk does not moderate scams. That goes to say, Bitcointalk is still a place where questionable services can exist and promote themselves.

Are mixers so different because they provide privacy or because they can be used for illegal purposes. In the latter case, there should be a massive crackdown on other illegal activity on the forum. Moreso because not every mixer in itself is a scam as people have already concluded in this thread. Otherwise this decision is very questionable. On the other hand, if mixers are being banned because of pressure from the government against services that provide privacy, it is also a questionable action. In that case Bitcointalk is an indirect adversary of privacy.

Must we start to worry in what other ways pressure may be applied on Bitcointalk and its operators?