Quality\community balance

I think this is an interesting question, and yes, we have to be ready to make tradeoffs.

But I think I have to question the assumption that there's an inherent community/quality tradeoff. Aren't there potential solutions that improve both quality AND community?

(Not that it isn't a useful exercise to ask how far you would go to develop community and/or quality.)

There are. But there is a cost to quality too -- demand too much of it without careful thought, and other things come under strain. It's important to allow for it.