Well, moderation will differ from one website's forum to the next, I suppose. But if the Rules of Conduct aren't enforced people will continue to test its limits and break them, and I don't see how that can ever lead to a pleasant atmosphere.
People have been complaining of late (even in this thread) at the degrading quality of discussions here, and I think at least part of that is because users can see what other users are getting away with, and in turn (because of the apparent lack of consequences) they begin to become less mindful of proper etiquette themselves.
Essentially, bad behavior is being encouraged because it's not being penalized. I'm not sure that setup is going to improve with a larger audience come launch.
