We're already seeing a fair amount of rotten fruit being slung at one of the candidates. Are the comments on the election page moderated or is this a gauntlet that candidates must run?

IMHO asking candidates to explain their "controversial" past actions is OK. However, the candidate in question gave the requested explanation and also what he has improved upon or plans to improve if he is elected. At that point, further mudslinging should stop. If you don't find the candidate's explanation satisfactory, that's fine, express that with your vote.

Hunting down the candidate on other sites and searching for their other posts, "rejecting" their explanation saying "no, you don't really mean it", and making it your mission to not get the candidate elected is not cool, and I would argue it violates the Be Nice policy as well.

Good luck to all the candidates :)

@paparazzo I never doubted that for one minute.

I'm just gonna put this here (there it's buried behind "16 more comments"):

I am uncomfortable with the tone of some of the comments here. The community should absolutely ask candidates to clarify anything that bears on a candidate's suitability and, yes, some candidates are going to be controversial, but (a) diligent pursuit of clarity needn't be combative and (b) the election chat room is probably a better place for extended discussion. – Monica Cellio♦

And in that spirit: @RichardU, how will having a diamond after your name (blue styling in chat) affect your activity in chat?

@MonicaCellio Obviously, no more snarking or engaging in any activities I'd have to moderate if anyone else did it. I understand that as a moderator, you need to maintain a great deal of decorum and professionalism and tact

I understand that you have considerably less freedom to be silly or to "tell it like it is". Where as a user I'd tell someone to "knock it off", as a moderator, I'd say "Could you please tone it down, we don't want things to escalate"

It's a serious responsibility which I would take to heart.

Thanks. It can be hard sometimes to avoid getting caught up in it "in the moment" sometimes, when everybody's in the room and the snark is flying from others. Can you say more about how you'll handle the situation when this kind of conversation is happening in real time and you're in the room?

IMHO I am fair game in regards to questions on my candidacy for Moderator. Rudeness or rotten fruit flinging will be ignored.

@MonicaCellio On average how many hours a day does it take to do your share of moderating?

@MisterPositive I'll do my best to exclude the time I spend just being a user. Also, I'm answering for myself and I'm an experienced moderator; you should apply a "learning curve" factor. On a "normal" day, 15-20 minutes. On a day when something is blowing up, much longer. I've occasionally spent several hours untangling a mess and writing the resulting moderator/suspension messages. Fortunately, we're a team and we work well together.

@MonicaCellio In my head I was hoping for an average of an hour a day. On my part there will be a learning curve for sure. Thanks for answering.

In other places I've moderated on, I've often started a session with clearing any reports/flags, gone back to being a user, scanning and responding to active questions and moderating if I see anything in the course of that. And periodically spinning back to the flag/abuse queues during my visit. I imagine the same is true here.

@Snow That would be my strategy as well.

@MonicaCellio In all honesty, I'd take a cue from how you've treated me in the past. If I were handling it real time, and I were in the middle of it, I'd start by berating myself and then ask everyone to step back. "Okay folks, it's getting heated in hear and I know I'm one of the offenders, please, let's all take a step back" (if I were involved.)

If I were not involved, It would be more like "Okay, I understand it's getting heated, and you're all valued contributors, but we need to take a step back, please"

@MonicaCellio Sometimes putting the whole room in time out would be best IMHO. Sometimes its the only way to lower the heat.

@MisterPositive yeah, and I don't even consider that the nuclear option either. Enderland did it a few times for 30 seconds, and that was enough

It's a good tool because it stops anyone from getting in parting shots.

@RichardU Exactly

One of the reasons I am nominating myself is to "fix" the tone of my conversation. I believe I am usually kind and considerate in my responses, but I have the tendency to fly off the handle at times. The responsibility of being a moderator (in the unlikely event of getting elected, of course) would certainly help remind me to exercise restraint. Just getting "ready" for my nomination has already been quite fruitful. :)

@MaskedMan I think it does cause a definite shift in mindset.

I don't really mind if I don't get elected. However, ignore my previous sentence, and do the right thing - vote for me.

@MaskedMan you changed your mind again!!! LOL

@MisterPositive Last year there was a question on what is the unique thing you bring to the table as a moderator. I suppose I do bring in some comic relief. :)

@MaskedMan I agree. a little humor makes one more approachable.

Time to code, you folks take care!

@Snow this is what I do: come to site, look at the flags for anything either urgent or easy, look at meta and handle anything there, then go back to the site and browse as a normal user. (With side trips into "bring stuff up in the moderator chat room" as needed; this sometimes happens with complicated flags or observed patterns of behavior.)

@MisterPositive it's probably safe to assume an hour per day at least for the first little while. It'll vary and people do have lives; everybody understands that. You'll need to learn the tools and learn some history sometimes, and sometimes things flare up that take longer.

@RichardU thank you.

@MonicaCellio Appreciate the information.

@MaskedMan one of the standard questions that didn't get picked is: "A diamond will be attached to everything you say and have said in the past, including questions, answers and comments. Everything you will do will be seen under a different light. How do you feel about that?" It was new to me when I answered it in the Mi Yodeya election (we did live candidate chats then, not questionnaires, so you didn't know the questions in advance), and I found it a helpful framing.

@MaskedMan pssst You have to nominate yourself first...

@MonicaCellio Yes, I decided to prepare my answers to the questionnaire first, and then nominate.

@MaskedMan that is a good plan, wish I would have thought of that...

@MaskedMan makes sense. That makes it slightly easier to include a link in your nomination.

@MaskedMan I also did not read the other answers first. That helped.

@MisterPositive I don't think the precise timing in these early days makes that big a difference. (And you can edit your nomination to add the meta link.)

Given my tendency to write long winded answers, that is taking some time. :D

@MisterPositive I recommend that. Answer the questions with your answers; go read the others after that.

@MonicaCellio I did edit my q/a based on your feedback.

I have a question for any candidates that may feel like answering it

ok

I haven't read the other answers either. I have a bit of an advantage there since many of "my" question got picked.

With the current climate on stack, you'll have to expect to be subject to being demonized from several sides. What's your strategy for staying impartial and calm in the face of people assuming bad faith of you?

@user5389107 first, you have to accept the fact that no matter WHAT you do, someone is going to assume bad faith, or at least say they do.

There are people who just want to be disruptive.

What you do in response is just take the emotion out of it.

@user5389107 First and foremost I will adhere to the BE NICE POLICY. I also know that I won't make everyone happy, so be that as it may, they won't be able to say I wasn't nice and did not play fairly by the community rules.

Good question @user5389107. I would just focus on doing what I have to do as a "mod" without worrying about who gets upset about it. Of course, I will try to explain the reasons behind my actions to anyone who is open to listen. Beyond that, if people want to continue thinking I am a jerk, then that's beyond my control anyway, and I wouldn't bother.

@user5389107 Another strategy of mine is its not what you say sometimes but HOW you say it.

I also do not keep grudges and treat each event independently, so I can continue to remain impartial regardless of who didn't like me in the past.

I like these responses

@user5389107 I also realize I am human and will make mistakes. I will admit to them, and fix whatever damage it done by them.

@user5389107 to expand a bit on what Mister Positive stated, you also keep it brief and on point. If you include too many details, then people will argue details.

Do you all believe you have what it takes to take the high ground every time?

Can I expect of you to be the voice of reason in any drama fest?

@user5389107 I don't think anyone can realistically say that. I will say that I will do my best to be better and better each day.

@user5389107 Nobody can make that pledge honestly. We are all going to have the occasional bad day. What you do though, is admit to your mistakes immediately, and then correct them. No, I would not be able to take the high ground every last time, as I am not infallible.

As a voter I want to vote for a candidate that I can count on being the defusing resonable influence that does not escalate and calms down tensions so drama doesn't continue any longer then it has to

@user5389107 Oh, of course, you can count on me to do the right thing (most of the time anyway). :) As I said above, I tend to fly off the handle sometimes, but I recognize that some stuff I do as a "regular user" won't be any longer acceptable as a "mod", and I am actively working towards that.

@user5389107 I either will be that, or stay out of it.

Most everything else about modding can be learned quickly in my opinion, but it takes that rare quality to be insulted and still remain calm and willing to fix it and let people make amends

@user5389107 there are simple strategies to do that. You deescalate first by acknowledging the person's concerns, then address them, then ask them for input.

@user5389107 You can count on me to either de-escalate ( 99% ) or to not escalate.

Oh that reminds me, I had to edit one of my old answers to include one of my quotes (I just made it up, and I don't know if anyone has said it before): "Never let go of an opportunity to let it go." I should put that into practice more often lol.

@MaskedMan that could be your catch phrase, like HR is not your friend or talk to your manager

Gotta run for a bit, take care!

@MisterPositive Could be, although right now, it is "Don't overthink this".

Take a look: workplace.stackexchange.com/…

Example: You are having a dispute with another user. "user5389107, I understand that there has been some conflict between you and userx, and you're completely justified in feeling that way. How do you think we can resolve this?"

Coincidentally, I just came across this as well @RichardU: aeon.co/ideas/…

To be clear, I wasn't agreeing with apaul as such in the comments, other than that I don't think that "beliefs" in general are disconnected from someone's suitability as a mod. I certainly don't have a problem with you like he seems to have

I think they are to an extent if you can control them and not let them blatantly influence decision making

@Carpetsmoker thank you. Honestly, it's starting to unnerve me a little bit. This all came from a disagreement where he accused me of being part of the Men's rights movement, and I replied "Why, don't you think men have rights", cited a few statistics, and phew!

mainly that workplace deaths are 90% men, due to the careers they pursue.

I don't know what his problem is with me. When he got upset at another site and rage quit, I asked him to reconsider, so I certainly bear him no ill will.

@user5389107 Everyone has their own biases. Some people run with them, some go too far in the opposite direction to try to avoid them. The hardest thing to do is understand them and not let them cloud your judgment.

That's what I try to do.

One bias of mine that I am aware of is that I tend to be very aware of discrimination towards autistic people, because I've experienced it, and even have a question on the subject. If I were a mod, and a Q or A about autism came up that was getting heated, I'd probably step back and ask another mod to step in if I weren't clear on the subject.

The key is to not let your biases rule you.

Pretty sensitive topic considering the recent SO blog post

@lix I'm of two minds on that, the more I think about it.

It sadly has brought a whole wave of people who seemingly don't want a conversation or debate. They merely want to shout at anyone who doesn't get behind them.

I understand discrimination, and have actually posted a question as to whether or not SE is a bit hostile to autistics.

I'm a somewhat fairly regular person in the JS room which was targeted subsequently and it's a completely different landscape now :/

I've actually had someone tell me that "They shouldn't be allowed to hire people like you"

Because your autistic?

If so that's ludicrous.

@lix yep. and it is

So, discrimination is real, it does happen. I just don't believe that cracking down on people for any offense, real or imagined is the solution.

But was "like you" referring to specific personality traits or simply to your disability? Those are different things

Pretty stupid retort considering that people with autism are widely accepted and are some of the most professional / talented people at least in our community(software devs) .

@Carpetsmoker oh, no, it was when I explained that I was autistic.

Frankly, I didn't understand that blog post at all. In all my time on the SE network, I've seen discrimination against minority groups on only a handful of occasions. Of course, there is a lot going on that I don't see or experience, but it doesn't seem as rampant as taht weblog post seems to indicate

Also relevant: arp242.net/se/racist.png

And there was a similar spat over at politics meta a while ago

@Carpetsmoker It happens, but responses need to be measured.

Personally all I've seen from that posts are negatives from a personal exspierence

The one about chat enforcement was even worse as a whole, highlights all the negatives with no real direction towards solving things.

There way of solving issues with chat is just to close the room, which given the fact they haven't cared in the last 4-5 years at all is just awful.

Here's why from the perspective of someone who is in more than one "protected group" as they call them. I have a post in IPS where I ask about how to deal with people getting offended on my behalf. All I want to do is to get along, and this person rushing to my defense over issues I can handle myself is getting in the way

@lix it's swatting a fly with a cannon

you can put a room in time-out, you can suspend the offenders from chat, you can suspend their accounts from SE for a period.

Definitely it's definitely made me want to go into chat far less, half the regs in the JS room are just apologising over literally anything at all as they really don't want there room closed

I think those things are what it should be about for sure, closing a room should really be a last resort

but ey chat rooms don't make money for SO so I doubt it'll ever get the attention it deserves

re: autism, I dislike the label. I was diagnosed with PDD-NOS when I was 14 or so, and for many years I believes I was "autistic" and didn't really grow as a person. It wasn't until I saw seeing it as personality traits that can be improved on that I did. I guess it works different for different people, but for me, labelling me as "autistic" was very counter-productive

I went from "autistic" from sociable and have quite a lot of friends. These are things you can learn, just as you can learn programming or carpentry or other skills. Sure, not everyone has the same amount of aptitude for it, but that doesn't mean you will forever suck at it

Anyway, those were just some random thoughts on that ;-)

Well it's good you found a way to handle it, I just don't think we can rid the people making a fuss about it with a things like blog posts much like the no nice stuff. It's there in the rules, moderators and SO should of been enforcing it and they weren't. For me putting anything like that out in front of people is either a cry for change or pointing fingers.

Folks, this room is for discussion about the moderator election, not for discussion on discrimination, SO blog and other topics. While that topic is certainly an interesting one to discuss, we should probably take it elsewhere. What do you think?

I don't work for SO but I get the feeling a lot of the people who work there are generally soft when it comes to upholding the foundations of what this site was built on and it's easier to blame the community of being hostile than it is to do a better job of moderating discussions. Not to mention within the tech industry if your not virtue signalling it's a great way to be tossed aside by the majority liberal group of people.

woops totally thought I was in the cooler room, thanks for the heads up.

No worries. It would be the epitome of embarrassment for our community if a moderator election chat room got put into timeout. :)