Judaism Town Hall Chat

Consider a Question "I'm injured, so I can't walk to synagogue this Sabbath. What can I do to connect my prayers with those of the community?", an Answer "According to the Conservative Movement, you may drive to synagogue. Drive there, and join your congregation." and a comment on the answer "This answer is invalid, as it assumes that Jewish Law isn't binding." Stuff gets flagged. What do you do?

What do you feel is the goal (/mission) of MY.SE?

A post is flagged. All mods have looked at it. No one's taken action/cleared it because you're all unsure what to do with it. What do you do now when there is no consensus?

At what point would you bring an ignored meta post (that could use official comment) to the Higher Ups' attention?

Why do you want to be a moderator (ie, as opposed to a user with privs via high rep?)

Tell us about a time (here or elsewhere) when you managed to successfully spur a group of people to positive action that wasn't required of them.

What is something about the character or policy of the Mi Yodeya that you'd like to work to improve as a mod, and how will you work on it?

Everything you vote on (both close and delete votes), once elected, will be a binding Super Vote. How will this change your voting habits?

How much time do you expect to spend per day performing moderation duties? Or will it just be "as it comes," whenever you have the time or get in the mood?

As we approach our close, final thoughts from the candidates?

@MonicaCellio (Everyone else welcome to answer too) What relevant unique perspective do you bring to the table, and how would that affect your actions and value as a mod?

When you see a question with major issues (poorly-written, argumentative, etc.), what tool do you reach for first?

What would you do if a user on the brink of a behavioural/jerkface suspension tries to bait the mods by leaving a comment along the lines "what a mistake for a mod to make" on a mod's post for the sake of seeing where things go?

Inspired by meta.stackoverflow.com/a/136119/166155 Apparently mods can refund bounties. Why can you imagine refunding a bounty? (And don't cheat and read the answers there!)

Do you feel like a representative percentage of the community participates in your site's meta? Based on that, how strongly do you think feedback presented on meta should factor into your decision making as a moderator?

@AdamMosheh I have noticed that you are of the opinion that we should be answering questions in a "psak" manner (and not advise CYLOR). Will you follow this approach as a mod?

New users often are not accustomed to the Stack Exchange system, and sometimes struggle to present themselves properly, either in the way they use the site or their attitude. How willing are you to work with "problematic" users, and at what point do you decide that someone isn't worth the effort?

With a diamond after your name, everything you say and do on the site will be perceived in a different way. How do you plan to handle this, especially when having discussions about site policy and scope decisions?

Welcome to the Mi Yodeya Town Hall Chat

For candidates, I spy among us: @HodofHod, @DoubleAA, @MonicaCellio, and @AdamMosheh

@GraceNote I think we have a good slate of candidates. I look forward to seeing the election results, and I'm excited to participate. I think the site's in good hands and is moving in a good direction. I don't mean to rock the boat by throwing my hat in the ring, only to add to a good thing. Thanks for organizing the townhall. Hatzlachah to my fellow candidates and the future moderators in all their work going forward.

@shachna To allow people to ask questions that they couldn't ask elsewhere. For me, I've rarely asked a question here that I felt perfectly comfortable asking any of my rabbis - largely out of a feeling that my question is fairly basic and I'll betray my own ignorance. Here, not only am I fairly anonymous, but everyone is respectful and non-judgmental of others' standing in their Jewish knowledge and practice. Halevai that were true in the real world!

@SethJ Nicely put (the last sentence).

@TimStone Thanks for the fast work! Looking forward to it.

@DoubleAA Sorry, but I won't grow a beard for mod consistency. Some things are going too far. :-)

@GraceNote This has been tough hitherto. I've tried (perhaps not always!) not to be thefirst to voice an opinion, for fear it would be given too much weight. Plus, what @DoubleAA answered to this.

Whew! I just realized how intensely focused on my computer I've been for the last hour.

@GraceNote Thanks very much for organizing!

@AdamMosheh I happen to think BST nee Vram was making a point of the futility (הבל הבלים) of reputation. So final thought: Quality first, rep second.

@shachna To increase Jewish knowledge, addressing the questions people actually have and not what we think they should know, in an open and friendly environment where we can all learn together. Everyone is a student and everyone is a teacher. We're a community.

@DoubleAA I second this - broader tagging and nesting would help immensely. I sometimes get lost in our tags and I'd like us to do better.

@MonicaCellio what do you mean by "working with him"?