I don't agree that moderation adds as much to the discussion as you say it does. Flagging (with the option to show dead) and downvoting is all that's needed for

I don't agree that moderation adds as much to the discussion as you say it does. Flagging (with the option to show dead) and downvoting is all that's needed for the community to police itself. This is a forum of intelligent people, there's no way the dialog you suggest would happen and if it did, those comments would be nearly instantly flagged. I think there's also room for inviting users to be moderators on a rotating basis. Anything is better than a centralized moderation team that can direct the tone and voice of a community in my opinion.