Yup, looks like a cylindrical mesh "filter" which you should be able to blow clear with compressed air blown the opposite way to the flow of the gas.
Replacing the whole assembly at a cost of $200 is kind of ridiculous just for cleaning a mesh filter.
As for the other forum, I was an active member for many many years (COG 3242), and before that I was on here (when it WAS the COG forum) and before that I was active on the old email Listserver for many years. COG changed very much for the worse over the years but I stayed active and involved on the forum and avoided the politics mostly.
Then the powers that be decided that I had to pay $35 per year just to be allowed contribute to their forum. For me that was the straw that broke the camels back.
Being in the UK, the ONLY part of the COG membership that was of interest to me was the forum, and I am not paying to read ****hole-troll posts and outright insults.
So, I left and to be honest I don't miss it at all.