The [announcement of the Code of Conduct changes](https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/334900/official-faq-on-gender-pronouns-and-code-of-conduct-changes) is sitting now, three days after being posted, on a score of -916 (with 1180 downvotes). I can't remember a change announcement being received so negatively ([this post](https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/334248/an-update-to-our-community-and-an-apology) isn't really an announcement). Other announcements like https://meta.stackexchange.com/q/329763/295232 and the older https://meta.stackexchange.com/q/272956/295232 have scores in the same order of magnitude right now as I'm writing it, but I fear this is far from the end. The last major Code of Conduct changes were published as a [blog](https://stackoverflow.blog/2018/08/07/get-to-know-our-new-code-of-conduct/) but the announcements ([1](https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/312038/wed-like-your-feedback-on-our-new-code-of-conduct), [2](https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/312850/the-second-draft-of-our-code-of-conduct-is-available-for-feedback-and-review)) were positively received, even though there was/is a lot of critique on the Welcome Wagon.

What are the (main) reasons that the current changes are received so negatively? And how could/should Stack Exchange improve to make sure such major changes are received better in the future? As a professional trainer of mine likes to proclaim "People can and want to change, but they don't want to *be* changed." Or, does it even *matter* that the current sentiment is the way it is, as long as the company is (feeling that it is) doing the Right Thing™? Desperate times call for desperate measures, and those are often unpopular.

I'll try to outline some of the possible reasons (and improvements) in answers, but I hope other users will write something about other reasons I'm not familiar enough with (e.g. [compelled speech](https://meta.stackexchange.com/q/335068/295232), or punishing the company for the way they treated Monica). Note: I'm not trying to take a stance here (though it's obviously hard to be 100% objective in this case); as always on Meta, a neutral tone is preferred.