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Early on we gained 3 Moderator Pro Tem's Two are doing a great job, but one has been missing for a while.

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The site is very active and we have been getting our share of inappropriate posts. Should one of our two remaining moderators have a personal vacation or something... It might be helpful to have another moderator or two available.

This post at Meta.SO suggests all we need to do is ask.

Should we seek additional Moderator Pro Tem's?

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2 Answers 2

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We do a periodic check on sites to make sure that the moderation team is sufficient for the size of the community and volume of flags. Each site could theoretically get by with only two moderators, we appoint three just so we're certain that the site is covered as moderators go in and out of activity.

Moderation is strictly a volunteer effort, and we're very respectful of the time that our volunteers have to give. When someone has been absent for several months without notifying us or the other moderators that they'll be away for a protracted amount of time, we'll usually reach out to the moderator primarily to see if they're okay.

As we do our periodic checks, we may suggest to the team that we bring another moderator on board, and the moderation team is always welcome to reach out to us to ask the same.

That said, it looks like we've got one moderator on a bit of a hiatus (I'm not worried, I'm quite certain he'd reach out to us if he could not continue, but I will check in to see if all is well), and another moderator stepping down. Hence, I'll be contacting some of the more prolific users that have demonstrated the qualities we look for in moderators, and appointing at least one more by the end of the week.

(If you're interested in becoming a mod, leave a comment to let me know)

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    I would be interested - previous volunteer posting
    – James Jenkins
    Mar 31, 2014 at 15:34
  • @JamesJenkins I'm going to be announcing an appointment to replace Ashley Nunn (who just stepped down), someone I was in contact with prior to noticing that Baarn hadn't been here in a while. If I'm unable to reach him at all this week, You'll definitely be hearing from me.
    – user105
    Apr 7, 2014 at 14:50
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I won't give a super strong opinion on this front, except to say that it's actually not as busy as you might think (the other day is an anomaly). My real concern is that Ashley and I are not only the same time zone, we're basically in the same city. That means the coverage outside of those windows (about 6-7 hours) is pretty much zero except for passing SE employees and that can allow for some bad content to stick around longer than we might want.

In any event, it's not a work load issue. I'm busier on the Photography site and I've been the only seriously active moderator there for some time. So, I think Ashley probably should chime in as well.

As an aside, I am on vacation, but it's in the US Southwest and I have a US SIM card, so I have cell and data. Not totally cut off like the week I spent in Cuba.

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  • So basically we need to make @esapaulasto a mod and have him watch over the site while we sleep. The night watchman of pets.se :P
    – Spidercat
    Mar 30, 2014 at 15:36
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    @MattS. - what did he do to you?!? ;p
    – Joanne C
    Mar 30, 2014 at 16:32
  • Where r u in the SW, John?
    – JoshDM
    Apr 1, 2014 at 0:22
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    @JoshDM - All over really, we're road tripping as we make our way to Trinity Site. We're just heading into Kingman, AZ for the night, going to do the original Route 66 stretch down here.
    – Joanne C
    Apr 1, 2014 at 1:02
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    lol @MattS. - thanks but my temper and mentality is not quite fit for modding :D
    – Esa Paulasto
    Apr 1, 2014 at 6:55
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    @MattS. would also be a good candidate. Have you considered it?
    – James Jenkins
    Apr 1, 2014 at 10:53
  • @JamesJenkins I dunno, maybe? If people want me to I'll try it I guess. I never really considered myself to be "mod material"
    – Spidercat
    Apr 1, 2014 at 13:30
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    @MattS. - I guess that would depend on what you think mod material is...
    – Joanne C
    Apr 1, 2014 at 13:57
  • @JohnCavan Well, I can't say that I wouldn't be tempted to close those fish-suggestion questions that I dislike.
    – Spidercat
    Apr 1, 2014 at 14:02
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    Not that I would go around closing Q&As out of spite. I'm just saying it'd be tempting, and I'd be biased if those types of questions ever got flagged.
    – Spidercat
    Apr 1, 2014 at 14:07
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    @MattS. If you realize your biased about a topic, that is 99% of the battle. Ignore it and let another mod (or the community) deal with it. The blatant stuff is pretty easy, but if it is borderline and your not sure your decision would reflect the community decision, just let it go.
    – James Jenkins
    Apr 1, 2014 at 15:09
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    @JohnCavan - read that as SouthEast. Have fun and avoid the earthquakes.
    – JoshDM
    Apr 1, 2014 at 15:09
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    It is a great advice for non-mods too, what @JohnCavan just posted. When there's something in the review queue that I can't quite decide - I click on 'Skip' to let others judge it. That way I don't skew the voting with my personal indecisiveness.
    – Esa Paulasto
    Apr 1, 2014 at 22:08
  • @EsaPaulasto - Not my specific advice, it was from James, but he's entirely spot on with it.
    – Joanne C
    Apr 3, 2014 at 2:56
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    @JamesJenkins - as you perhaps know, I work in nightshift, and reading/commenting while sleep-deprived makes for all kind of disturbance in the Force ;)
    – Esa Paulasto
    Apr 3, 2014 at 7:03

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