OSNews

That is true. I browse OSnews at -1, so I see a lot of those questions, and usually they are non-constructive, annoying and more likely than not, the cause of a flamewar. I would almost make it a seperate reason to mod question down, but usually it is covered by offtopic.

I DO notice that I find it very hard to consequently moderate OSnews, even though I have plenty of mod-points. It is a chore that demands a lot more concentration than just filtering as I read.

A lot of reactions aren't wrong per se, it is just that they are slightly polarizing or don't have much news to offer compared to other posts in the thread, and not even slashdot, with years of metamod experience has completely fixed that, even though their signal to noise ratio is bearable these days.

I am goofing off, ranting now, but I have thought a bit about moderating systems, on forums, and within games and it is tough material.

Maybe posts shouldn't have a score displayed, but just a colour that ranges from red to green. Moderators just get the option to moderate up or down once, and metamoderation of samples would have to judge if a person tends to judge from a standpoint of agreement or a standpoint of quality (or sense of humor, that is important too sometimes).

People who have high quality posts and votes will flip the scales more easily, while people will retain a sense of democracy. I will try to write up a bit more in the train if you like.