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We had two moderators step down in 2019 (only one was publicly announced), which leaves us as a community running with just 2 moderators.

For the most part, we run pretty much fine with two moderators, however we do not know when activity will ramp up somewhat unexpectedly; events like UFO videos being re-re-released, world leaders saying unfathomable things, or the odd global pandemic seem to spike traffic quite considerably.

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.

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  • 4
    I'd like to add: Over the past 20 years, the skepticism movement has been slowly - oh so slowly - moving away from being represented by old, white men with beards. I want to encourage anyone who doesn't fit that profile to consider putting their name forward. Similarly, you don't have to agree down the line with the current mods on policies and approaches. Having a diversity of viewpoints amongst the mods - and amongst the user community - is valuable, and I hope this election can inject some more into the mod team.
    – Oddthinking Mod
    May 12 '20 at 16:06
  • Just out of curiosity, are there any requirements or can anybody be a moderator (albeit theoretically)?
    – Jordy
    May 13 '20 at 10:50
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    @Jordy, not too many, no. You might like to take a look at our most recent election for the requirements last time around. I suspect they will not be materially different (although I am not sure at this stage).
    – Jamiec Mod
    May 13 '20 at 13:28
  • 2
    Related to @Jordy's question: There are some terms ("Moderator Agreement") that you have to accept, but they are pretty straight-forward: Mainly to abide by the Terms of Service that apply to all users and abide by the Privacy Policy (from the other side to most users!)
    – Oddthinking Mod
    May 14 '20 at 15:07
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    I have moved to chat a discussion about diversity.
    – Oddthinking Mod
    May 15 '20 at 9:44
  • 2
    Is there no one else? Maybe ping all high rep users or something?
    – fredsbend Mod
    May 19 '20 at 20:07
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    If an "election would fail due to an insufficient number of candidates" and you can guarantee I won't get elected, sure. "Only one person running for the mod position? Come on guys, it's not that bad of a job! - aug 30 '18 at 11:57 by Tester101" – DiY chat, 'star-ed'
    – Mazura
    May 31 '20 at 10:19
  • I just want to leave a comment that the community is doing a pretty good job of helping the moderators. It's not perfect, but I want to give it some appreciation.
    – Andrew Grimm
    Jun 23 '20 at 12:26
5

I'd be willing to put my name forward for one of the positions. I spend enough time on here as is, and I'd like to think I've been a cooling presence on the network. I'll go along with @fredsbend and put my vote count to a pulse check as well.

1

I don't want to promise a nomination, but I want to express interest. I would hope to be a positive force on the moderation team, producing a synergistic effect, however, I don't have full confidence that my personality and preferences would work well with the current team. I'm only answering as a leap of faith on Odd's word that a diversity of viewpoints is wanted.

To help me take a pulse check, vote on this answer whether you think I could positively contribute to the moderation team.

As a matter of pride, I understand my candidate score on this site to be only 18/40 (somewhat low), so my nomination may highly depend on who else is nominated.

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    Hey, I don't promise to enjoy the act of the comfortable status quo being disrupted. I can't even honestly say I am looking forward to it. But it is very likely to be good for the site, so I welcome it anyway.
    – Oddthinking Mod
    May 14 '20 at 14:57
  • +3/-2. Not looking good so far.
    – fredsbend Mod
    May 15 '20 at 14:55
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    @fredsbend That should read +5/-2 not quite as bad as you're thinking. Anyway, some disagreement with you is kind of par for the course being a mod here.
    – Jamiec Mod
    May 17 '20 at 15:55
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    @Jamiec Now +5/-5. I didn't know I was such a contentious figure. Lol.
    – fredsbend Mod
    May 21 '20 at 15:04
  • @Oddthinking - "A little revolution now and then is a healthy thing" - Captain Marco Ramius :)
    – user5341
    Jun 1 '20 at 15:45
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    @fredsbend the fact that you're +8/+7 makes me even more supportive
    – DenisS
    Jun 5 '20 at 13:32
0

I think the mod team is currently doing a good job, but long-term having just two moderators doesn't seem ideal.

So I'd be interested in having an election and would also consider running.

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