I'd like to nominate AthanasiusOfAlex. But it seems there is no option to nominate somebody else.

@JennyTengsonMandani That's correct. You must nominate yourself. You can comment on one of his posts in case he's unaware of the election for some reason.

@JennyTengsonMandani I just sent him an invite to this chat room which will turn up in his SE inbox. If he sees it and cares to join us you can suggest he throw his hat in the ring. As @fredsbend said candidates have to nominate themselves to get the process started if they are interested in the role.

> That said, I guess I probably will take my last name off my account if I'm elected.

@PeterTurner LOL, I think than cat is out of the bag sir!

Also, did you mean to write your name as “Pete” in the questionaire link list or was that a typo?

@Caleb I noticed that after I saved the changes, I usually sign things Peter Turner if I'm writing and Pete Turner if I'm typing - not sure why.

@PeterTurner Up to you, I just wasn't sure if it was intentional or not.

Have you considered nominating for Mod @MattGutting?

@bruisedreed For a few seconds, maybe. But: (a) I'm too enamored of the idea of the power of a mod to have any illusions I'd be good as one, (b) I have so many other things I'm involved in (mostly an Etsy store, and epilepsy advocacy work, not to mention an actual job :-) ) I wouldn't have time, and (c) because of (b) I'm not around as much as I think I ought to be as a mod.

You want to take it to Meta? I think it's worth making the point.

@PeterTurner I'm not sure that's a good approach! =) But I've cast a vote to reopen based on the explanations you and Matt have provided.

@Nathaniel Thanks, I don't mind getting a question closed either - there must have been something off-putting about it, so I edited to make it less rambly (Which is a good thing). One of the reasons I'm running for mod is because of the frequency that I do get questions like this closed. If I weren't so used to it, I'd be a little annoyed!

@PeterTurner It can definitely be challenging to make sure that close voters (even those from different traditions) understand the question. It does seem to happen with other traditions too.

My concern would be using mod powers to unilaterally reopen your own question, even if you think it's obvious

@Mr.Bultitude Thanks, as are you & I'm particularly reassured by the last sentence in your blurb - would hate for you to become a mod and see you post less of your excellent content.

@MattGutting I'd consider you, for what it's worth.

@fredsbend Well thanks :-) I appreciate the support. But (as was the case when I was teaching) I don't want to be a moderator if I don't feel I can give my best to it; and I think that's the case right now.

@Nathaniel I second that concern.

Is there a deadline on answering the questionnaire?

@Mr.Bultitude I don't think so. In the ELU election, one of the winning candidates posted answers very close to the end of the actual election.

Granted, the questions for our questionnaire were determined ahead of time, so we had more lead time, but I don't see any indication of a deadline anywhere.

@Mr.Bultitude No. Strictly speaking it's optional and I don't think you'd get kicked out if it's never done. However you wouldn't have my vote and i would say it reflects poorly on on a candidate to not have it it by the time the nomination phase closes. Articulating positions on meta is something potential mods should be adept at.

@David Are you going to stick around as a user?

@Mr.Bultitude Most likely. I'll probably go back to my old habits of reviewing posts, and doing "community moderation". It's easier to be an active part of the community without the mod hammer. Having it means you have to be a heck of a lot more careful about your words and actions. It'll be liberating to be a "normal" user again.

I don't know if I'll ever be as active as I once was, but I'm sure I'll be around.

@David Good to hear! You'll have more freedom, and with as much rep as you have, you won't lose that many of the everyday moderation capabilities. You'll be able to retake your leads in the review queues that have been stolen from you since you became a mod :)