As far as moderating HN goes, from one point of view it's a perverse undertaking and the short answer is that the job matches my neuroses. From another point of view, it has been a growth opportunity—the options are either to let it drive you insane or grow. From a third point of view, I sometimes think that trying to assemble a large group on the internet into a curious organism is a worthwhile thing to try.
It also has some advantages which would be hard to give up. I don't think I could go back to a job where I didn't have creative control. I could imagine doing a startup again.