With freedom comes responsibility

And if you can't handle the responsibility the freedom eventually disappears. An unmoderated board demands much more repsonsibility of its members than a moderated one. Responsibility for posts and reactions is completely on the membership since they've essentially asked the moderators to step out. If the board is moderated, the moderators hold much more of the power and responsibility, but then the members lose freedoms.

It can't go both ways. If you want enforced rules and to be able to appeal to the moderators to step in, that's moderation and comes with all the pros and cons of moderation. If you want the moderators to step out, that means whatever rules may be stated are not going to be enforced as strictly and you can't run to the moderators if someone breaks them at your expense. If the members can't hold themselves accountable to the rules, or deal with those who break them, then the freedom to be unmoderated will disappear.

And to quote Forrest Gump, that's all I have to say about that.