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It's that time of the year again!... Elections! Wait, what? It's not a regular thing around here? Maybe it should be!

With Mat and 200_success stepping down, elections should be coming soon (in 6-8 weeks?). It seems the perfect time(*) to offer my diamond up for grabs now, to give you, dear community, the chance to choose some new benevolent overlords, guiding beacons of light, moderators once again! And that means (drumrolls...), my mod hat can be yours!

enter image description here

(I like hiking. I do it a lot. Also, I didn't know it would do this to the hat... :( )

First things first:

  • I thank this awesome community for supporting and electing me 3 years ago, and for self-moderating so well that makes the job of the moderator team almost effortless.

  • I thank the amazing moderator team. I learned a lot from each of you, @200_success, @Mat, @Simon, @Jamal, Duga, and a certain monkey. (What? Duga is not a mod? I'm pretty sure Duga is a mod.)

Ok so what's going to change? Not a whole lot! I wasn't doing much to be honest. Jamal edited into shape most of the posts. And half of the internet too. Probably. 200_success was streaming wisdom from his fingertips. Mat and Simon kept the chatrooms and sub-communities alive. That left me with flag handling. You know, those no-longer-needed-comments you fill the databases with that are now gone? That was (probably) me. Or the users posting nonsense that are now destroyed? That was (probably) me too. Well that's just easy stuff that any monkey could do (no pun intended). (I bet the (*) perfect time reference above now makes a whole lot more sense. Without Mat and 200 there will be a crapload of work that somebody will have to do...)

More seriously, I was an active user before becoming a moderator, and I don't really need a diamond to do good. (I know this sentence will bite me back when I run again...)

So this is not goodbye, I'm not going anywhere, just giving back to you dear community the power of choice. See you around on the site, as always, with or without a diamond.

*# TODO image*

PS: ...and if I get elected again (maybe even in the next one), I'm counting on a fresh new hat :-)

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    \$\begingroup\$ I'm considering asking @Duga if she plans on running in the election, but I'm afraid of what the result might be... \$\endgroup\$
    – Simon Forsberg Mod
    Commented Mar 18, 2018 at 22:58
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    \$\begingroup\$ I like how you're taking this as an opportunity to renew the community's confidence. Whatever happens (and regardless of how trivial you believe your part has been), you've been a great moderator and working with you was always a pleasure. You throwing your hat in the ring says a lot about you IMO. But man, ...poor hat!! \$\endgroup\$
    – Mathieu Guindon Mod
    Commented Mar 18, 2018 at 22:58
  • \$\begingroup\$ I have a feeling a reason to your flag-handling is this userscript, which seems to have stopped working (again...) \$\endgroup\$
    – Simon Forsberg Mod
    Commented Mar 18, 2018 at 23:02
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    \$\begingroup\$ Wait. Who is this @MathieuGuindon guy? \$\endgroup\$
    – RubberDuck
    Commented Mar 18, 2018 at 23:04
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    \$\begingroup\$ @RubberDuck well I did say I was putting down the mug ;-) \$\endgroup\$
    – Mathieu Guindon Mod
    Commented Mar 18, 2018 at 23:05
  • \$\begingroup\$ If that hat was in better shape... \$\endgroup\$
    – Raystafarian
    Commented Mar 19, 2018 at 4:40
  • \$\begingroup\$ @SimonForsberg you're in luck, for I still keep that script up to date ;-) It's not as important as you might think though ;-) \$\endgroup\$
    – janos Mod
    Commented Mar 19, 2018 at 5:36
  • \$\begingroup\$ That is really a very respectable attitude of You. \$\endgroup\$
    – Billal Begueradj
    Commented May 1, 2018 at 15:56

3 Answers 3

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When 60% of the moderation force opts to hang up the hat, it feels like there's a bigger problem, but I know the burden of a moderator on this site, and I totally get it. I also agree that fresh people on the mod team is a good thing too.

What I don't agree with is this: "Well that's just easy stuff that any monkey could do (no pun intended)." .... it takes very special monkeys to be able to do that. Seriously (not in jest), it takes a special person to be able to carry the responsibility of the trust of the community, and I think you're doing yourself an injustice if you feel the need to "prove" you still have the "mandate" to continue. You have our faith already, and surely you can just ask the SE staff for a new hat!

You are a special monkey, in spirit if not reality. I hereby grant you the title of "Special Honorary Monkey" just in case it was not apparent.

Regardless, I know your technical contributions to site is still going to continue (awesome answers, good edits, comments, etc.), and you won't be a stranger to the site... right? This is not good-bye! See you around.

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    \$\begingroup\$ When I said that there was nothing fishy going on, I meant it. The recent announcements do not indicate that anything is wrong, or that the moderator role was too burdensome. Rather, they reflect our belief that more frequent and exciting elections would lead to a more vibrant community. \$\endgroup\$
    – 200_success Mod
    Commented Mar 19, 2018 at 5:04
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    \$\begingroup\$ It didn't cross my mind that there might be such "shock factor". In retrospect I see now how it may look. I felt in harmony in the mod team, even the just thought of "big problems" would seem very foreign. I hope any uneasy feelings are dissipating now, with the excitement of the elections. I thoroughly enjoyed the mod role, and I wish my stepping down to be seen as a cheerful gift to the community. \$\endgroup\$
    – janos Mod
    Commented Mar 19, 2018 at 22:38
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I still remember the previous election when the first four of us won and then... this guy was added later on because... why? Seriously though, I'm glad that you were given a chance because you really did prove to be a great addition to the team.

While you may feel that you didn't do a whole lot, do remember that mods don't have to do anything truly noticeable. You still did your part and you did it well. You can certainly move on knowing that for sure.

Thank you!

By the way... you didn't delete any of my comments... right? I guess it's a good thing this wasn't around a lot sooner. ;)

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    \$\begingroup\$ To elaborate on that: the team has decided not to compete on moderator stats, because more moderator activity does not necessarily mean better moderation outcomes. We simply do whatever each of us enjoys, and our preferences happen to complement each other. \$\endgroup\$
    – 200_success Mod
    Commented Mar 19, 2018 at 5:08
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Nooooooooo!

We'll miss you, Janos. You've always been a wonderful inspiration to the community, and it's a shame to see you go. You're truly a pleasure, and I hope that whomever takes your seat next is as well.

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    \$\begingroup\$ It might be a bit premature to say "We'll miss you" now. There's still a possibility that janos will be re-elected. \$\endgroup\$
    – 200_success Mod
    Commented Mar 19, 2018 at 5:10
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    \$\begingroup\$ @200_success Not gonna lie: I kinda skimmed it after I realized Janos was potentially leaving as well and got super emotional because all three of you are wonderful folks (all the mods are) and I hate to see any go. \$\endgroup\$
    – Der Kommissar
    Commented Mar 19, 2018 at 20:27
  • \$\begingroup\$ @202_accepted that's perfectly fine, and thank you for the kind words! I will not run in the elections, but you don't have to miss me, I'll be around ;-) \$\endgroup\$
    – janos Mod
    Commented Mar 19, 2018 at 22:24

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