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Note: An election has now been set up to start question collection on May 11, 2020, and nominations open on May 18, 2020. Thanks to everyone that showed interest in running.

As you may have noticed, we're going through a period of low moderators' activity, with only 2 moderators (myself especially not really active), and quite a few flags which are not being handled.

As such, we're thinking on appointing one or more new moderators to contribute to maintaining the site clean and enjoyable. To avoid finding ourselves in a situation where an election would fail due to an insufficient number of candidates, though, I'm posting this to try to assess the community members' willingness to step up and nominate themselves, when the actual election's nomination period starts.

Please leave an answer if you'd be willing to run for a moderator position, should we decide to run an election.

NOTE: This is not an official election nomination thread, just a "pulse check" to get a notion of how many people here would be willing to step up, so you don't have to put up your whole election nomination. Here is the actual election announcement.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Wow, I wasn't aware W5VO and Dave stepped down. Unless I missed something, it seems they didn't announce it publicly. That's... Well, they'll be missed. Thank you both, in case you read this message. \$\endgroup\$
    – dim
    Commented Apr 15, 2020 at 12:24
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    \$\begingroup\$ Many moderators have reduced activity or stepped down over the past few months. There were a number of SE sites without any moderators whatsoever when all the SE Inc stuff was going down. That said, without comment from W5VO and Dave we can only speculate. \$\endgroup\$
    – Adam Lawrence
    Commented Apr 15, 2020 at 13:47
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    \$\begingroup\$ My reasons for stepping down were as personal as anything else, but I don't think I could have publicly resigned at that time without it being made into a statement, which was not my main reason for stepping down. I was unaware of Dave's intentions. \$\endgroup\$
    – W5VO
    Commented Apr 16, 2020 at 2:02
  • \$\begingroup\$ Makes sense. During that time, virtually every action taken by mods was believed to be at least partially influenced by the overall situation. Fortunately, those who were tracking the events only noted those resignations where the ex-mods publicly indicated that their reasons were due to the situation. Thanks for clarifying. \$\endgroup\$
    – Adam Lawrence
    Commented Apr 16, 2020 at 12:12
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    \$\begingroup\$ Well, thanks W5 and Dave for all your great service!!! Please accept this small-format acknowledgment in lieu of a bigger meta-post, as I didn't have any feelings as to whether you'd welcome that. I think you've both done a bang-up great job. \$\endgroup\$
    – Scott Seidman
    Commented Apr 16, 2020 at 18:49
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    \$\begingroup\$ Bit late to the party, but I'd also just like to extend my thanks to Dave and W5VO for the job they have done. \$\endgroup\$
    – MCG
    Commented Apr 23, 2020 at 14:04
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    \$\begingroup\$ I cannot possibly trust anyone willing to run for moderator, given that last year's (and January's) company disasters remain unsolved and nobody has been held responsible for any of it. The only people who'd run for moderator would be those who have been living underneath a rock and don't participate on Meta.SE, which in itself makes them 100% unsuitable as moderator candidates. I don't see how any site in the network can hold moderator elections still. It would be a farce. \$\endgroup\$
    – Lundin
    Commented Apr 29, 2020 at 11:50
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    \$\begingroup\$ Is there anywhere that has "job description" for what a moderator is expected to deliver? Please don't misread my comment as "I want to be a moderator" LOL. \$\endgroup\$
    – Andy aka
    Commented May 7, 2020 at 10:20
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Andyaka there are a few meta posts: meta.stackexchange.com/q/75189/177507 and a section in meta.stackexchange.com/questions/7931/…. I remember reading a detailed description but I don't recall where, and if it was restricted to mods \$\endgroup\$
    – clabacchio
    Commented May 10, 2020 at 16:19
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Andyaka this, for instance, is nice: stackoverflow.blog/2009/05/18/a-theory-of-moderation \$\endgroup\$
    – clabacchio
    Commented May 10, 2020 at 16:20
  • \$\begingroup\$ @clabacchio it seems to me that what is expected of a mod (by whoever the powers are) doesn't include bitching about someone called "Monica" or getting into political nonsense about how the site is run. Maybe, the job description needs to be firmer about this. Smallprint - I really do not know anything about Monica or any of the personnel changes. I do see a lot of non-techy bitching though. \$\endgroup\$
    – Andy aka
    Commented May 10, 2020 at 16:29
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Andyaka I think that's unfair, especially if you don't know about that situation. Nothing personal, and I think that's a quite controversial matter, but I wouldn't dismiss any position on that too quickly. Anyway, whoever wants to become a moderator might one way or another get deeper interest in how the site is run, so it might be relevant to somebody. \$\endgroup\$
    – clabacchio
    Commented May 10, 2020 at 18:51
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Andyaka "Bitching" about what happened on the network last year (which is much wider than what just happened to Monica) certainly isn't a requirement of being a moderator. But there are rules here, and differing interpretations of them. There are also different directions that one may wish the network would follow. And moderators are of course allowed to have opinions about this, just like any user. Now, if elected moderators feel that the path the network takes isn't the one they wish, they are not obligated to stay and keep their mouth shut, are they? They can say "I disagree" and quit. \$\endgroup\$
    – dim
    Commented May 11, 2020 at 7:28
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Andyaka In fact, it's funny because your comment above is exactly what you wish the moderator wouldn't make: a political statement. You see, it's hard to be part of such a large community without having an opinion on how people should behave. You can't blame people (both moderators or regular users) for having one, and saying it. \$\endgroup\$
    – dim
    Commented May 11, 2020 at 7:33
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    \$\begingroup\$ As part of the SE Inc. recovery activities, there is talk about some level of formal moderator training and a revisit of the aforementioned "theory of moderation". Refs: stackoverflow.blog/2020/04/08/q2-community-roadmap and meta.stackexchange.com/questions/347104/… - and as for "bitching" my total output on these topics is all in this thread in Meta (not in main): so I don't see how it could be labelled as distracting / political nonsense. Feel free to vote for someone else if I choose to run. \$\endgroup\$
    – Adam Lawrence
    Commented May 11, 2020 at 16:19

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I would consider it despite some doubt that I'd get elected, having lost in both of the other EE.SE moderator elections that I ran in. (I have the T-shirts to prove it if you don't want to dig into the Meta history)

Also, would you have asked me a month ago, my answer would have been a solid 'no' given SE Inc's recent conduct:

In fact, I was considering removing myself from the SE network entirely (and burning my SE / EE.SE T-shirts). Cooler heads did prevail, however. I did support Monica's crowdfunding cause and did sign the moderator/power user open letter to SE, and watched quietly from the sidelines. I am encouraged by the new lines of communications opened by recent hire Teresa Dietritch and continue to hope that some of the lost trust can be rebuilt.

That said, I've been on this SE site for a very long time (almost since the beginning) and I feel like I have a good grip on what this site should be and how to steer people towards using it correctly. Fortunately for all of us, some of the strong-hand tactics which used to bombard newer users seems to have quieted down but new user education remains important.

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    \$\begingroup\$ So far it's just been empty words and/or more lies though. They still roll out experiments and changes without consulting the community. What the company says and company actually does remain very different things. \$\endgroup\$
    – Lundin
    Commented Apr 29, 2020 at 11:50
  • \$\begingroup\$ I'm still watching things as they evolve. The Moderator Council is a nice touch, if they actually engage with them remains to be seen. \$\endgroup\$
    – Adam Lawrence
    Commented Apr 29, 2020 at 17:56
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    \$\begingroup\$ I feel like being a moderator for SE at this time period would be like being part of the board of directors for a company that has absolutely no hope... and perhaps you would be more qualified in understanding what could benefit the company than the company's chief officers. \$\endgroup\$
    – user103380
    Commented May 8, 2020 at 3:17
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I would like to further serve the SE.EE community, put my name up for nomination.

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I'm posting this to try to assess the community members' willingness to step up and nominate themselves, when the actual election's nomination period starts.

Please leave an answer if you'd be willing to run for a moderator position, should we decide to run an election.

Yes, I would be willing to step-up and nominate myself for members to vote on as a potential moderator, if you run an election.

To be clear: I don't know all the answers here, but currently I would be able to give something back and try to help keep the site running smoothly, by spending some time to action flags and other administrative work, during the UK day and evening.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Just to close the loop - I didn't manage to get my nomination included in time, so I'm not in the list of candidates for this election. However there are several worthy candidates, so I doubt that anyone will miss me :-) Now let's vote! \$\endgroup\$
    – SamGibson Mod
    Commented Jun 2, 2020 at 17:44
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Not quite as senior a member as most here, but I also would be interested in taking a role as moderator. Everyone has to start somewhere, I'll try starting this year.

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