It's pretty much guaranteed that any system with a privileged regulator (moderator, editor, whatever) class will bog down in the long run. The basic problem is that regulators get credit (however that gets measured in a particular community) when they regulate, not when they leave things alone or reduce the amount of regulation. Thus there's an incentive for regulation to increase even when it may not be needed, and indeed even when it is counterproductive.
There have been a couple of suggestions in science fiction that would be interesting to see someone try. Heinlein suggested a special branch of government whose purpose was to repeal laws and regulations promulgated by the other branches. Frank Herbert went to an even greater extreme, by having an quasi-official "Bureau of Sabotage".
Perhaps online communities should have a separate group charged with reversing the decisions of editors/moderators/whatever they're called, with no discussion or appeal permitted.
Thinking through the likely consequences of "volunteer bureaucrats" should send a shiver down the spine of anyone designing a crowdsourced resource. Even without a formal system of recognizing the work such people do, their own gratification inevitably rests on wielding the power they have.
So, yes, a system of meta-moderation, and preferably one that is mechanical and resistant to being gamed, is needed. As fascinating as it is to see emergent cultures in Wikipedia editing and reddit moderation, it ends up being dysfunctional, and that doesn't serve the goals of the communities from which those sites derive their value.
There have been a couple of suggestions in science fiction that would be interesting to see someone try. Heinlein suggested a special branch of government whose purpose was to repeal laws and regulations promulgated by the other branches. Frank Herbert went to an even greater extreme, by having an quasi-official "Bureau of Sabotage".
Perhaps online communities should have a separate group charged with reversing the decisions of editors/moderators/whatever they're called, with no discussion or appeal permitted.