I think you misunderstand. We are not talking about critiquing postings.... but chapters from novels.
If you feel your "novel" is controversial, then it is up to you to decide it you want it critiqued.
Re: Rant - balanced against all the threads you listed are hundreds of political threads so I think FR is not going to turn from its orignial purpose.
The maturity level I see in the writer's threads, the excellent talent, and the willingness to help others in the desire to be writers lends not to "bite-backing" but to honest and useful help.
I know they have helped me immensely by their willingness to honestly share their time and knowledge with me.
“I think you misunderstand. We are not talking about critiquing postings.... but chapters from novels.”
What earthly reason do you have critiquing fiction novels on FR??
It seems to me that you want to be on FR because of the population mix, hoping that some sales might come out of a FR posting.
There are plenty of free or low cost web sites you can move your “critiquing” to, without using up FR bandwidth.
.....Bob