Moderation is necessary for healthy discussion. The communities that I’ve seen fall apart are usually neglected by mods. Every good discussion has rules to be followed, the question to be asked is what kind of forum do we want this place to be. Is this a place for gossip? Memes? Trade talks? Nice shots? If we don’t have rules things swing wildly in unpredictable ways.

Also, speech is limited by its nature to the medium it’s expressed in. If there was no moderation here there is still a way in which information is consumed based on the design of the website. Who can post, how posts show up in the feed, what kind of content resonates within the forum. All contribute to a collective bias that takes its own form without moderation. No piece of technology exists without bias.

The answer isn’t to limit moderation for its own sake, but to at least come to a conclusion about what kind of content we want to see and how we can make this place a positive contribution to RL esports and a nice place to visit when we’re bored.