I'd say the tendency is to absolutely trivialise the work that goes into moderating online forums. It should be easy, right, you just click buttons while sitting at home in your pajamas, no? Well no, not really.
I think most people don't understand how difficult it is to wield power over others when you're aiming for a good community. Many commenters who complain about any form of governance don't realize what a small fraction of power is actually used, and how much more oppressive their ideas would be in practice.