Every time I've participated in a small sub where the mod went AWOL it's been just fine. Often much better than your average Reddit sub. You can even see this

Every time I've participated in a small sub where the mod went AWOL it's been just fine. Often much better than your average Reddit sub. You can even see this with smaller active subs that only have one moderator. The sub doesn't fill up with spam when the moderator is sleeping.