They want the platform to survive, otherwise they wouldn't have bothered listening to user feedback. Either way, I'm happy to see they are doing something about how toxic SO is. The community has certainly earned its reputation. I for one don't think being an asshole is the only way to drive down noise.
I'm kind of curious, because I've heard the line of reasoning about keeping it "clean" multiple times. Like its only purpose is to be a pristine knowledge base where every question is asked only once, and a perfect answer is selected and enshrined for all time. That's all wonderful and magical, but how does also serving it's purpose as a QA platform for new people on the struggle bus prevent that first goal?