One alternative to moderation is to make people pay to post. If you set the price high enough, you'll disuade most spammers and some other species of asshole. Unfortunately, people who hate moderation also tend to hate paying for online services.
True, this keeps the community small and those work really well without moderation.
The moment it becomes a bit more popular, shit hits the fan. I am still for a light approach. Banning spammers, trolls, and illegal porn posters is a separate issue for me, but many platforms began to delete unpopular opinions.
The most heavy handed moderated places are very often the most toxic ones, I think they are far worse than free for all examples. Given, that might not work for the masses.
