GenAI Stack Exchange is just over seven weeks old, during this time, it's been moderated by community managers. The reason for this is because of its unique origin as an experiment for a possible site creation process, as explained here.
We wanted to check in with the community to see if there was any interest in holding an election to add moderators. The main reason is to add individuals with greater expertise than the CMs to help with moderation. In addition, we also don't want this site to go to long as a CM-moderated site. Elected moderators would still be expected to work with the stakeholder group on policy, site changes, and general site business, as has been the norm for this site since its creation. CM support would still otherwise remain the same as it has been.
This doesn't change the nature of this site still being an experiment, and isn't Stack Overflow the company considering it to be a success or complete.
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. 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.
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.
- 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.
