First I'm seeing that comment, first I'm seeing this comment. Saydrah has been wrong about a lot of stuff.

Tags will never have anything in common with Subreddits because Tags do not have moderation. You tried that tag.owner thing, which kind of had a little hint of moderation in that the .owner had total control over the tag... but even then, tags ain't subreddits. The amount of hand-work necessary to keep a subreddit running would likely seem overwhelming to you once you get up into big numbers. An example: We've got a 200-line Automoderator codex just for /r/Realestate, which only has like 40,000 members. Automod pulls about 40 spam posts an hour. Those are the ones Reddit missed.

You say "social baggage." I say "useful friction." The Internet is a strange and wonderful place that has few of the same shops and customs as your home - bloody well bring a toothbrush, a change of clothes, a towel and the Hitch Hiker's Guide.

Baggage is good. It's what is allowing your little social experiment here to not break down.