I was on Askville. There is “moderation” but it’s extremely rare. Obscenities, name calling, threats, harassment, trolling and, God knows, the fighting could go for days and days without being removed. People left by the tons. The only people who stayed pretty much were/are long timers who, because of the lack of moderation, seem to be doing anything they want to the dismay of even MORE people who left because of that. That site has changed for the worse over the last few years in my opinion and the opinion of the people that left. And probably YOURS too, @daloon.
One noticeable difference in the Askville vs. Fluther communities is that the Fluther people don’t “live” on Fluther. This is a good thing. The site expertise is constantly changing and getting refreshed. On Askville, the people there now seem to “live” there.
In my opinion, moderation is a good thing, but only if it’s done right. Moderators have to be impartial – they can’t participate and befriend other users as well as moderate because, people being people, some have a difficult time being impartial and objective when that happens. Likewise, mods have to be consistent and, for that, you need guidelines and a moderator manager who makes sure the mods adhere to the guidelines and, more importantly, make sure all mods apply the guidelines to ALL users equally. Finally, I think the ideal mods would be paid mods, and who would be scheduled 24/7 and who would be terminated for a job poorly done.
PLEASE note that I am NOT saying these are changes Fluther should implement. I’m giving my opinions on moderating and its impact on a site and how a lack of moderation can ruin a site.