Unfortunately this doesn't really have much to do with StackOverflow, beyond it having the success that gives it a) A large community. b) Unpaid moderators wh

Unfortunately this doesn't really have much to do with StackOverflow, beyond it having the success that gives it a) A large community. b) Unpaid moderators who include people and cliques who feel self-worth in gatekeeping and other forms of "power". It's always been this way in most fora; the more success, the larger the community, with a corresponding increase in inappropriate moderation. See also, Wikipedia, Reddit, everywhere else of this ilk. HN's acclaimed moderation - apart from being in a much smaller community, doesn't fit that model at all; perhaps it's not scalable though.