Look at this shit (first paragraph of body of article):
"Automatic watches are admired for their intricate mechanics and timeless appeal, but even the finest timepieces can sometimes run fast or slow. If you’ve noticed your automatic watch gaining or losing time, you’re not."
First search result on DDG. Thank you, automatic watch expert and real person Hnin Oo Thazin. We may need a whole ass new internet.
https://mtscwatch.com/blog/why-your-automatic-watch-runs-fast-or-slow-and-how-to-fix-it
I'm not saying that the moderators should be volunteers, it's just that it tends to work best when that's the case. It means that people care enough to volunteer their effort. They care about the community so they want to put in that effort.
By all means, if there's a community you like or a fediverse server you like, try to find a way to pay them if you can. But, if it gets to a stage where moderators feel they deserve to be paid, it's often a bad sign.