I want to make a note about the "trans/non-binary people being asked their pronouns" conversation before I dive into the meat of this post. I'm the one who posted the original thread asking for a write-in field, and I'm a genderqueer female assigned male at birth; I'm transitioning my body to female and I present female/androgynous, and I'm well aware that I don't pass very well, mostly because of my voice. I don't mind being asked my pronouns at all, whether online or in person; in person, especially, I know that I don't pass, but someone asking me for my pronouns shows me that they're aware of trans issues and care enough to want to know the correct method of address.
However, this is an online forum and as such we have access to certain conveniences, such as a personal profile, and even though I don't mind being asked for my pronouns, I'd still much rather just be able to write on the profile that is provided that I'm genderqueer and I use she and her pronouns, and do so in a way that makes it immediately visible without requiring someone to scroll and read other sections looking for it. And I agree completely with the other points being brought up; I was initially ambivalent to this (and kind of amazed that the admins responded to my suggestion so quickly; I don't agree with the decision, but props on you guys for listening to your community!), but the more I dwell on it, the more I think that this does nothing but trivialize gender and sort of shove it into the corner. My gender identity and gender expression are both very important to me; I prefer that my friends and even acquantices are aware of how I identify. This is somewhat difficult in real life, but here on a forum I feel it should be easier than this change makes it. When I asked for a write-in section, I did so to open the door for non-binary people to be able to easily inform people how they identify and what they prefer to be addressed as (basically the same right that cis people have); instead this change actually makes that more difficult, relegating it to a section where it will be often be overlooked, and making it just as inconvenient for cisgendered people to boot.
And even beyond that, thinking about the average users, how many people will bother to write their gender in About Me? I think a lot of people who have no problem disclosing it simply will overlook it if there's no profile field for it. And a better question, how many people will bother to look for it there? Having it as a field near the top of the Information section made it quickly and conveniently accessible; this change makes it unneccessarily obtuse. And while a lot of people won't have problems asking for pronouns (I myself ask people what their pronouns are as a routine when I meet new people in real life), some people who are socially anxious do. Believe me, I've been there. I used to be so bad socially that asking any question (even trivial ones) was difficult. This change just puts more pressure on those people who don't feel comfortable asking that question, and I think that pressure could be avoided.
Except for the trivialization of gender, I don't think a lot of these are issues that are that important. However, they are very easily fixable with a write-in field, and even if that's not possible, by adding more options to the gender field. They're so avoidable, and that what makes it problematic that we're facing these issues. A write-in field allows you to disclose as much or as little information about your gender as you want to, and make that information quickly and conveniently available to those it may concern. If you don't want your gender publicly known, you can leave it blank or fill it in with something silly, while if you're like me and having your gender known matters a lot, you can be as specific as you desire.
Overall I'm still not exactly offended by this change, because I know it was made in good faith and was meant to acknowledge the non-binary community, but I feel in practice it does the opposite while simultaneously making something that should be simple unnecessarily obtuse for everyone involved.