Programming Language Design and Implementation Stack Exchange is just over two weeks into private beta, which means it’s time to start thinking about what comes next: the election to choose your first moderators.
What does it take to be a Moderator?
Prior to 2018, moderators were handpicked by staff, and referred to as pro-tempore or pro-tem mods, because they were intended to serve only until the community could run its own elections. The Community Management team would look for users 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
- Have an eye for content that should be flagged, closed, or removed, and act on that within the expectations of the community and Stack Exchange generally
Electing your moderators
In 2018, however, beta sites began electing their own pro-tem moderators, joining community-elected moderators on network sites that have left their beta phase. The process is mostly the same, but if you’re interested in the full details, see the announcement on Meta Stack Exchange.
Today, I’m announcing this site’s first pro-tem election. If you are interested in nominating yourself, you are invited to state your intention to do so in an answer here. Additionally, if you feel someone would be a good fit as a moderator on this site, feel free to use an answer to this question to support them and encourage them to run. The timeline:
Starting on the Monday following the site moving into public beta (week 1), users can nominate themselves in the election page. Users can also ask questions on meta for potential moderators to answer. (Use the discussion and election tags.)
On the following Monday (week 2), if there are 4 or more candidates, the election will move into the voting phase. If not, I'll extend the nomination period for a week. If at the end of that extension period there are still less than 4 candidates, I'll simply appoint the candidates. (There's a small chance we'll need to remove a nomination.)
If the election moves into the voting phase, I'll announce the results on meta on the following Tuesday (week 3) (or the one after that, on week 4, if we need to extend the nomination period).
NOTES:
- This is not an official election nomination thread. It’s 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.
- This does not mean that the site has been cleared to leave private beta. The dates for the election are provisional and subject to change, and the election as a whole is dependent on Programming Language Design and Implementation meeting the requirements to progress from private into public beta.
- In order to be considered as a candidate, applicants must comply with the requirements listed here, specifically:
- Have at least 300 reputation.
- Be "in good standing", i.e. not have been suspended on any site in the past year.
- Be 18 years of age or older, or be 18 years of age or older by the end of the election.
If you have any questions about the process, please stick them in an answer here.
