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Per Moderator Pro Tempore blog post, we should somehow get together moderator nominations for our site.

About a week into the public beta, we will seek out members who are deeply engaged in the community’s development; members who:

  • Have a reasonably high reputation score to indicate active, consistent participation.
  • Show an interest in their meta’s community-building activities.
  • Lead by example, showing patience and respect for their fellow community members in everything they write.
  • Exhibit those intangible traits discussed in A Theory of Moderation.

Some other rules:

  • Each nomination should be a separate answer. Link the name to the user’s profile (parent and meta) so we can see their activity.
  • The nominee should indicate their acceptance by editing the answer, adding that they accept the nomination. Optionally they can write something about themselves.
  • Self nominations are okay, and even encouraged. (...) Self nomination is simply a way to say, “I’m interested. Let my record speak for itself.” Links to other activities may be helpful: Area 51 participation, participation in other sites, blog posts reviewing or announcing the site, etc.
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  • \$\begingroup\$ +1 - I read that blog post last night, but it was way past bed time so I figured I'd create this post in the morning (if nobody else had done it already). I updated the "Top 7 Site Attribute Questions" post (meta.photo.stackexchange.com/questions/11/…) to point here. \$\endgroup\$ Jul 28, 2010 at 9:14
  • \$\begingroup\$ I'll start the ball rolling then :) \$\endgroup\$ Jul 28, 2010 at 20:04
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    \$\begingroup\$ I think it would also be useful for nominators to say briefly why they are nominating a particular person. \$\endgroup\$
    – Reid
    Jul 28, 2010 at 21:26
  • \$\begingroup\$ Do we need a total of 4 moderators? Was wondering who else we might nominate...there are still some avid users on the main site who have shown dedication and extensive knowledge. \$\endgroup\$
    – jrista
    Jul 31, 2010 at 1:07
  • \$\begingroup\$ Good to see that you've accepted the nominations! You are all very active and provide good answers (and critical comments). Good luck! :) \$\endgroup\$
    – Marc
    Aug 4, 2010 at 14:20
  • \$\begingroup\$ This is going to seem like a silly question, but I'm curious as to why this is on the meta site and not on the main site? Not that it matters to me, I voted anyways, but I would think a large portion of the community would miss this. \$\endgroup\$
    – Joanne C
    Aug 5, 2010 at 19:08
  • \$\begingroup\$ Ah, never mind, I think I figured out the answer to my question. That's what happens when you're too busy to join in the beta phase and miss all the interesting things. ;) \$\endgroup\$
    – Joanne C
    Aug 5, 2010 at 23:58

6 Answers 6

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Jrista (accepted nomination)

Thank you for the nomination, I'm honored.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Jrista has a lot of technical knowledge while still accepting corrections. He would be a valuable moderator \$\endgroup\$
    – eruditass
    Jul 29, 2010 at 19:12
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Rowland Shaw (accepted nomination)

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I think Rowland has provided some excellent answers to important questions. He has also asked some important questions that I think help build the community baseline. His experience dates back several decades, and I think he brings a good, solid background to the table. \$\endgroup\$
    – jrista
    Jul 29, 2010 at 1:43
  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks for the vote of confidence -- don't forget to indicate whether you accept or decline the nomination of yourself... \$\endgroup\$ Jul 29, 2010 at 7:48
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Rowland: I'm still thinking about my nomination. ;) I appreciate it very much...but I am not sure I am really qualified enough as a photographer. \$\endgroup\$
    – jrista
    Jul 29, 2010 at 19:01
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    \$\begingroup\$ being a skilled photographer is not the primary requirement for being a moderator (as mentioned elsewhere in comments). \$\endgroup\$ Jul 29, 2010 at 19:43
  • \$\begingroup\$ Sure, I was one of the people who made those comments. However, my knowledge is almost purely theoretical/technical, as I've only had about 1 year of actual photography experience. But, it sounds like people think I'll be valuable, so I'll accept. \$\endgroup\$
    – jrista
    Jul 29, 2010 at 23:12
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Guffa (accepted nomination)

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    \$\begingroup\$ I thought I would throw in a good word for Guffa. He has shown thorough knowledge of photography, both digital and film. His knowledge seems to span both the theoretical and the practical application. \$\endgroup\$
    – jrista
    Jul 29, 2010 at 23:15
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Would it be dreadfully rude to ask prospective mods a bit about their photographic background? Perhaps not for the pro-tem mods (though I'd like that), but what about the more-permanent ones?

I don't ask because I think we need an MFA or something on the mod team, but rather because I think there's a bonus to diversity in background and experience, and I think there's a good chance we might miss out on that, given the founding bias of SO users (though it's very hard to say for sure, people's profiles are so brief).

I should add (per comments) that I'm assuming we'll pick community-minded people first, and again given the founding set of users, we're probably quite well off in that respect. Having a variety of perspectives within that group is what I'd think of as the ideal situation, and why not aim high?

Because it would be rude to ask for something I wouldn't provide, myself, briefly: I'm a programmer. I've been doing photography seriously for 15 years, but with no particular qualifications apart from some darkroom printing workshops. I shoot film almost exclusively, favour street and documentary photography, and tend to read about the art/philosophy side of modern photography. And no, I wouldn't pick myself as a mod. ;)

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    \$\begingroup\$ IMHO, Moderation isn't just about knowledge of the field -- it's more about building the community, and understanding how to get the most out of the software the site uses. \$\endgroup\$ Jul 28, 2010 at 20:48
  • \$\begingroup\$ @matt good reminder to tidy up profiles, and tailor them to each site they use. \$\endgroup\$ Jul 28, 2010 at 20:52
  • \$\begingroup\$ @matt: should we also take this as a nomination for moderator? \$\endgroup\$ Jul 28, 2010 at 21:17
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Rowland - yes, I absolutely agree. I'd assumed we'd get that aspect right. I'll add it to the entry so people don't have to parse the comments. \$\endgroup\$
    – ex-ms
    Jul 28, 2010 at 22:00
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Fredrik: No. Like I said, I wouldn't pick myself, it'd be silly to nominate myself. :) \$\endgroup\$
    – ex-ms
    Jul 28, 2010 at 22:08
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    \$\begingroup\$ I think its ok to ask prospective mods about their background. While I think we need people who understand how the stackexchange software works, so they can be effective at moderating, the site does have a specific target audience, and it would be helpful to have community leaders to know the field. I don't think every candidate needs to know everything...specialists in one thing or another are perfectly ok. \$\endgroup\$
    – jrista
    Jul 29, 2010 at 1:41
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    \$\begingroup\$ I'd say one of the most important attributes of the moderator is scientific approach to knowledge - what are the facts, what are just opinions and beliefs, what we know, what we don't know and what we don't know that we don't know. \$\endgroup\$
    – Karel
    Jul 30, 2010 at 17:40
  • \$\begingroup\$ I think the idea of aiming for balance is a great one. We want moderators to cover knowing the SE software, being good on the community side, knowing about photography, cameras and post-processing ... We don't need every moderator to cover all of those areas, but between them they should cover them all. \$\endgroup\$ Aug 8, 2010 at 22:34
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Matt Smillie (Appreciated, but declined.)

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    \$\begingroup\$ Thank you both, but like I joked-but-serious above, moderation is not my cup of tea, as I have trouble applying it in moderation. :) \$\endgroup\$
    – ex-ms
    Aug 4, 2010 at 23:07
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    \$\begingroup\$ Sorry to hear that, Matt. ;) Good to have you around, though...you have a lot of good knowledge. \$\endgroup\$
    – jrista
    Aug 6, 2010 at 18:27
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Reid Priedhorsky (Declined nomination - see comment below)

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I think Reid has shown a remarkable breadth of knowledge, and has offered some of the most helpful answers on this site so far. I think he deserved a nomination. :) \$\endgroup\$
    – jrista
    Jul 29, 2010 at 1:48
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    \$\begingroup\$ Thanks for the nomination, and I'm honored; however, I must decline for the present - I'm currently finishing up my Ph.D. and don't have enough brainspace to give the task the attention it deserves. :) If there's another round of nominations a few months down the road, I'd be happy to be reconsidered. \$\endgroup\$
    – Reid
    Jul 29, 2010 at 3:43
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Reid for the record, it was your question: photo.stackexchange.com/questions/1387/… which implied you wouldn't have the time, which is why I hadn't put you in my original three... \$\endgroup\$ Jul 29, 2010 at 12:59
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Rowland, no worries - you're one step ahead of me. \$\endgroup\$
    – Reid
    Jul 29, 2010 at 13:36
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Reid: Sorry, I wasn't as observant as Reid. I didn't catch that you were already swamped. Best of luck with your Ph.D! \$\endgroup\$
    – jrista
    Jul 29, 2010 at 23:16
  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks! I defend in just under a month and have a great job lined up after that, so there's light at the end of the tunnel. \$\endgroup\$
    – Reid
    Jul 30, 2010 at 1:15

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