> Leftist will not tolerate anything other than what they think is right, so it's expected that they will ban everyone who doesn't share their mindset.

Not all leftists are like this. Some of us actively enjoy and even prefer discussing our political opinions with those who disagree.

That said, I know the type of people you're referring to, and they tend to be insufferable to deal with.

Let's first appreciate the parent of your comment being down-voted for saying leftists don't take critique, confirming the point.

In my experience, the insufferable ones tend to dominate communities, making the entire place unappetizing. You can see this effect on Mastodon too. A tiny group makes all the posts, and they have 100% ideological consistency.

I think that's an effect much more important than arbitrary rules of an instance, because this happens before it. People aren't banned, they are discouraged from posting at all and become the silent majority.

If I post “Linux users won’t accept any criticism of Linux” and lots of Linux users downvote it for being hyperbolic nonsense, does this confirm the point?

It's one thing to discuss political opinions with other people. However, there is a fine line that the far-right, TERFs and SWERFs easily cross - and that is denying other people their right to a self-determined existence or an existence at all.

> Not all leftists are like this

I suppose that's true.

Being a 'TERF' probably means one has a healthy stance on censorship and free speech, and an ability to cut past the bullshit and see and say things for how they really are. So that just sounds like a point in favour to me.

How did we end up conflating viewpoints with positions onfree speech?

Disliking trans people does not mean supporting free speech. Now I'm expecting you to rattle off some examples of trans people expressing views contrary to free speech.

That's true, but TERFS have as well. So what's the point?