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.

I think Mark gets a mention quite often, certainly more than other administrator/moderators on fora I've participated in (but perhaps not enough when things are running smoothly!) I hope he knows we appreciate what he does and how he's always wanted to know what we want from the forum.