I guess it all comes down to how good you are at resolving conflict. I don't think an alt-coin needs a moderated thread and just by having it, it feels like the OP is sanitizing the thread so it actually invites more anger to have a moderated thread than without. An OP may not even be removing messages on the thread but if you come there and see the self-moderated flag you automatically think that peoples voices are being silenced.
When it comes to Community forums and moderation you often do have to remove spam but best practice is to only remove posts if absolutely necessary and give fair warning. Say someone is causing trouble on forums and making a lot of people angry, fist your give them a warning, if it keeps happening you give a temporary ban, keeps happening then a permanent ban, still keeps happening then start involving law enforcement.
I used to moderate MMORPG forums years ago, pretty much the same thing as Bitcointalk and Community forums.
Brilliantly written ... I couldn't agree more. Although the devs appear to have genuine talent when it comes to coding and crypto, they seem to get easily frustrated when dealing with the public. Alt-coins already have such a bad reputation that anything that even smells like a scam, such as over-moderation of public discourse, can sink a coin. However, I like the new tack they are taking.
What they need is a figurehead with more diplomatic and pr skills ...