Do we need moderators now?

I also moderate a couple of small forums. Most people know each other so they are reasonably civilised, and I don't allow anonymous users. It makes a big difference if you insist people put their real names to what they say. I certainly wouldn't move posts around; give me a break, I can think of better ways to spend my time. Mostly it is a matter of removing advertising and helping some of the less techno-savvy users. "I've forgotten my password again" accounts for quite a proportion of requests for help.

Certainly agree it is time-consuming and largely thankless.

Maybe there should be better publicised 'rules' on useage, rather than moderators, so everyone knows if they're taking the michael and change to PMing rather than clogging up inboxes. Also others would feel more comfortable about telling people to change to PM.

However, sometimes one line answers are funnier than a well thought out and argued point, which has some merit. I for one use this forum because it is a bunch of sailors having a (sometimes lively) debate which is usually about sailing. It's like being in the pub and I like that - it forges a sense of comunity where there isn't one in a traditional sense, and which is (IMHO) what the internet does best