Something bad happened here. I'm not clear on the details, but I'm gonna bet that:
(1) One or more people who should never have been let near a keyboard abused one or more people who didn't deserve it
(2) Assholes cried victim/repression after being called on their horrible behavior
(3) and we are back to square one in the great battle of civilized society vs free-speecher anarchists.
Lack of brands/VC won't kill Mastodon. Trolls will.
Ban them, silence them, remove them. Do not look back.