Moderators (requests and notices)

I'd say that was the way to go.

Turning it off is a bit like trying to swat a fly with a baseball bat. They actually do provide some utility when used as tags rather than anonymous thread comments, so it still seems worth keeping.
I go through phases of tagging threads in the Bikes'n'bits section. To make them more searchable.

Cant claim to do it very often though.