Comment by _heimdall
In my opinion, both spam and moderation are only really a problem when content is curated (usually algorithmically). I don't need a moderator and don't worry about spam in my RSS reader, for example.
A simple chronological feed of content from feeds I chose to follow is enough. I do have to take on the challenge of finding new content sources, but at least fore that's a worthwhile tradeoff to not be inundated with spam and to not feel dependent on someone else to moderate what I see.
That's just means you're effectively acting as a moderator yourself, only with a whitelist. It's just your own direct curation of sources.
And how did you discover those feeds in the first place? Or find new ones?
I know people have tried to have a relatively closed mesh-of-trust, but you still need people to moderate new applicants, otherwise you'll never get any new idea of fresh discussion. And if it keeps growing, scale means that group will slowly gather bad actors. Maybe directly by putting up whatever front they need to get into the mesh or existing in-mesh accounts. Maybe existing accounts get hacked. Maybe previously-'good' account-owning people have changed, be it in opinion or situation, to take advantage of their in-mesh position. It feels like a speedrun of the internet itself growing.