> wI understand very well that it is active moderation which keeps SO from being a toilet of spam and junk. I often wonder about this. I can see how this is tr

> wI understand very well that it is active moderation which keeps SO from being a toilet of spam and junk. I often wonder about this. I can see how this is true for somewhere like Reddit where lazy memes could overrun any subreddit, but I'm less convinced when it comes to SO. The vast majority of SO moderator actions are on questions that non-mods have already downvoted and reported. These questions could/would be hidden by SO's algorithm anyway. Only new queue lurkers see unpopular questions. I think that SO's moderation could be almost entirely automated and overseen by a small number of professional paid moderators.