@NautArch If the problem you've identified is "lack of visible moderation," then a single moderator's absence, or replacing a low-activity moderator, is putting the cart before the horse. Like Greener says, mod teams are designed with a bit of fudge room. A single low-activity mod shouldn't be producing visible decline in mod activity on the site, so replacing the mod wouldn't solve the structural problem. You've basically set yourself up with an XY problem here.

You may get less frustrating responses if you don't lead these conversations with the solution to the problem, because it's a problem non-mods can only diagnose symptomatically.

(I think there's also a chance that "visible moderation" is not universally recognized as a measure of site health; mods are usually framed as exception handlers and are given a lot of invisible tools, so within that frame a case would have to be made that we've got exceptions which require visible handling.)

Y'all don't know this, but the moderator team does actually keep track of metrics, and there are protocols for when a moderator has consistently low metrics. They do get followed. "This one moderator is inactive" isn't a public facing problem because folks simply don't know what their activity actually is. "I'm observing that these things are happening on mainsite" would be the problem to report.

Even in cases of definite no activity whatsoever and radio silence — there's protocols for that and they get followed.

(also I'll just be clear that when I say "metrics" I don't also mean "quotas")

@doppelgreener Right, when a moderator is consistently logging in, we cannot know what they are doing that isnt publicly visible. But when the moderator goes weeks or months at a time without updating the "Last seen" ticker in their profile, we can know what their activity is.

And I'm 100% confident NautArch isnt throwing shade, rather is just trying to give an honest perspective on what things look like to the normal user.

But... that's not the issue. A moderator taking a break is anticipated and accounted for by the moderation system.

This whole thing is being approached backwards, from what I can tell.

Like Greener says, a moderator taking a break isn't a problem. Something happening on mainsite or meta, like actions which only moderators can take going undone, would be a problem, and an important one to report.

And if there's an actual problem, the thing to do is report the problem. Not assuming that a mod on break is the cause and reporting that, because I guarantee you the team already knows about it and if THAT is the cause of necessary mod actions going undone, the mods are the ones who can diagnose it. But it's very unlikely to be the cause, because the systems are built with slack.

And I'm not seeing any reporting of necessary mod actions going undone, just "lack of visible moderator action" which is.... not in itself a problem? moderators aren't intended to be leaders.

I'm not accusing anybody of throwing shade or whatever. I'm pointing out that this looks like a diagnosis and solution without a clear problem attached, and that's probably why it's not being responded to in the way Naut expects.

So I'm suggesting the action which could get a less frustrating response.

Are moderator-attention flags going unhandled? Are inappropriate actions not getting met with suspensions?

Your point is well received.