Hi
Well I can see that the moderator issues has its 2nd question already, like I said before its something that will always be debated/discussed due to the various views of FlyerTalk community.
Anyway, yes any moderation of any forum has a significant influence on FlyerTalk, the reason being that if someone has had to be moderated for some reason then they must just leave the community and post somewhere else if they have thought themselves to be hard done by.
On another note, if folk know that the forums are moderated then they will act more IAW with the TOS and behave themselves rather than start massive flame threads or very OT posts.
Moderators should be appointed but before hand it should be discussed and a look at their past postings habits and also how helpful they have been in that particular forum they want to be moderators in. Also a good knowledge of the forum subject is a must.
If we had elections then we would spend more time debating or discussing things rather than getting on with the task at hand and moderation is a necessary evil we must live with.
Regards