5

I know that some elections normally happen on a regular basis, but it's curious that none of the currently listed 4 moderators have been nominated (by themselves or others) to continue in their duty.

Given the fluctuating state of StackExchange in general, I'm not certain if there are new guidelines.

  • Are the intentions of the current moderators known?
  • If their names are not resubmitted, will their moderator status be removed?
  • What happens if there are no nominations by the end of the 7-day period?
1
  • Considering the way SE have been treating their mods, is it really so surprising?
    – Omar and Lorraine
    Commented Apr 29, 2020 at 9:27

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
8

I think you may be slightly confused!

With the exception of elections after leaving beta (often referred to as "graduation elections") existing moderators are never required to run in an election, only new candidates are. So, unless one of the moderators here states their intention to step down, they will remain on the roster. Additionally, there are no third-party nominations. Only the candidate can elect themselves, though y'all are welcome to encourage people you think would be great as a moderator here.

If there are no nominations by the end of the election, nothing will happen. Stack Exchange requires sites to have three moderators minimum with the intention that they are there to support the site and keep it in good shape. There are currently four people on the roster. The current moderation team asked for additional slots to help carry the load of managing this site, so we're running an election to hopefully find others interested in helping out.

I sincerely hope that they do get some help as I very much care about this site and I think the mods here are some of the best on the network (maybe some slight personal bias here...;) ). The last thing I want is for them to feel overburdened with the work here, which could lead to them deciding that they need to step down.

I know there are many great users on this site who have given a lot of time and effort to help cultivate the questions and answers asked here. I hope that we can get at least three of them to step forward to help the site.

If it helps anyone decide, while it's best if you can commit to at least six months of moderation, this isn't a permanent role unless you wish it. Moderators are free to step down at any time with no penalty. We appreciate any extra effort on the part of our communities. If anyone has any questions about moderation, please feel free to ask. Years ago I ran in an election here on ELL and was a moderator on two sites before I became a Community Manager, so I think I know a bit about what this site and moderation are like.

4
  • This effectively answers my question. Although I was somewhat familiar with the guidelines from years ago, I wasn't sure if anything had changed recently. Additionally, I was surprised to see an election for this graduated site without an explanation for what triggered it. If I understand you correctly, the goal is to have a total of 7 moderators here?
    – Jason Bassford
    Commented Apr 29, 2020 at 13:26
  • @Jason elections are usually held when the site mod team needs a helping hand or two. A couple of ELL mods stepped down, so one was in order. Election does not have anything to do with the graduation status, SO holds elections almost yearly.
    – M.A.R.
    Commented Apr 29, 2020 at 14:20
  • @JasonBassford Not seven, six. Two new mods would be joining the team. Three are required for the election to actually run since elections on full sites must be competitive. In my experience, we don't announce the reason for elections when we have them. If mods are stepping down, we don't make that public until the election concludes.
    – Catija StaffMod
    Commented Apr 29, 2020 at 14:45
  • @JasonBassford The number of moderators isn't as important as how active the existing moderators are able to be. It's a volunteer position and almost every other obligation someone has usually takes precedence over it.
    – ColleenV
    Commented Apr 29, 2020 at 14:58

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .