@b0rkJulia Evans Metafilter also has paid moderators (http://faq.metafilter.com/33/Who-is-in-charge-here-Are-there-admins-and-moderators-like-other-sites) and, while I haven’t read it in a while because gosh I need to spend less time on computer not more, my impression of MF is almost entirely positive. (Note that “the early years” of MF seem to be regarded as having been more of a hot mess so maybe don’t read super old threads there; I only started reading it in the last fiveish years.)