i read the forum at arstechnica.com quite often. they have classifications for topics something like this board. they also have a dedicated group of volunteer mods that patrol their assigned topic classification.

they also have a lock function that is commonly used. the mod will post a link to the thread showing the discussion has been covered elsewhere, and lock the thread so no new posts can be made to the dup. they also use this to quell the mutinies when the plebians sling fodder.

they even monetize certain thread groups as in you have to pay a subscription fee to post to that group. it is readable by any registered user, but posting is by subscription only. most of the other thread groups are readable by anonymous users.

the lock function in tandem with more even-handed moderation and topic centric sticky threads seems like a step in the right direction