cariad: You forgot one other group that monitors the moderators- everyone else!
There are advantages to not being a moderator, also. You may have less "power" in ways, but you also have more "freedom" in other ways.
(Quotes supplied since these concepts really don't apply to this pretend world that we use here)

As paranoid as I am, I still have to agree with grenv's assessment. Who cares what I browse? What are they going to do with the information? Hopefully they'll understand why I'm not moving in one of our games if they see that I'm browsing this board right now. :) As for any enemies that I might have, too bad for them that I'm reading their profile. :)
I liken it to being seen in a crowd. So you can see me from across the room, but that doesn't mean you have to talk to me, does it? You can wait until I get closer or you can come over to where I'm at and talk. Same thing here. You can see what I'm doing, but you don't have to send me a message unless you feel like it. If there was a hide feature, I think it would lessen this site's appeal. Though I doubt if it'd matter much either. Leasts way not for how I use the site, perhaps for others it'd make a big change for them.
Yes, this site is more than a game playing site. Trip how small changes can evolve into the main thing over time. Games are why I'm here though, and that's the whole deal for this site's existence. I doubt if it'd last long if all the games were removed and just the discussion and fellowship boards remained. Whereas if all the boards were removed, this site would go on still. Having both makes it better. I desire that games stay the main focus of this site while leaving room for discussion boards and messaging too.

Kind of like how it is now! :)