I was thinking about nested quotes - wouldn't it be better if they were collapsible? The first level would be expanded by default and all higher levels collapsed. If a person needed extra context, they would hit a button or link to expand those higher levels. This could be achieved with simple CSS.
I do not think that such a change is likely to occur for the current forum. I don't recall how it works in the beta of the new software, but you should check it out and recommend it there. I am not exactly sure how this is relevant to the OP though. 
I think in the Meuh thread some folks were irritated when he created a rule and deleted posts because of the "laziness" of over quoting. He thought it would be good to prune ; however, it may be better, as Yefi suggest, to have programing that causes nesting rather than people complaining about over nesting.
Regarding an elected moderator to bow out or pass the baton, that seems a bit problematic - but many of the voters here were likely of the impression that anyone running for such WO "owner" position would be committed to carrying out such duties for a reasonable period of time, such as a year or more.. ... and well, I suppose in the end, it is up to Theymos if he believes that passing on ownership would be reasonable or if he would go through some other process, such as an election.. or maybe extending the election based on new information.