I don’t like the insinuation that because gnome devs are volunteers they are somehow beyond criticism
You can volunteer on a project and still do a bad job, or need corrective action, or maybe even a little feedback. That’s not a bad thing. Nobody can make the right decision 100% of the time, and you need an outside perspective to see that.
One thing where you should draw the line is when that criticism starts to become abusive, but that’s something nobody should have to put up with, not just volunteers.