Skip to main content
Mythology & Folklore

2024 Moderator Election

nomination began
May 21 at 20:00
election began
Jun 4 at 20:00
election cancelled
Jun 4 at 20:01
candidates
3
positions
3

On Stack Exchange, we believe the core moderators should come from the community, and be elected by the community itself through popular vote. We hold regular elections to determine who these community moderators will be.

Community moderators are accorded the highest level of privilege on our community, and should themselves be exemplars of positive behavior and leaders within the community.

Our general criteria for moderators is as follows:

  • patient and fair
  • leads by example
  • shows respect for their fellow community members in their actions and words
  • open to some light but firm moderation to keep the community on track and resolve (hopefully) uncommon disputes and exceptions

Full elections have three phases and an optional fourth phase (Primary):

  1. Question Collection
  2. Nomination
  3. Primary
  4. Election

Please participate in the moderator elections by voting, and perhaps even by nominating yourself to be a community moderator!

Additional Links

Questionnaire
The community team has compiled questions from meta for the candidates to answer.
  1. How would you deal with a user who produced a steady stream of valuable answers, but tends to generate a large number of arguments/flags from comments?

[Answer 1 here]

  1. How would you handle a situation where another mod closed/deleted/etc. a question that you feel shouldn’t have been?

[Answer 2 here]

  1. In your opinion, what do moderators do?

[Answer 3 here]

  1. 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?

[Answer 4 here]

  1. In what way do you feel that being a moderator will make you more effective as opposed to simply reaching enough reputation to access moderator tools or become a trusted user?

[Answer 5 here]

3 Candidates

Nomination Primary Election

Gullintanni

I would like to volunteer as a moderator for the Mythology & Folklore Stack Exchange.

My interest in mythology began by reading the Prose Edda, one of the main texts in Norse religion. I soon became very interested in medieval Icelandic literature and comparative studies of Indo-European mythology, into which I delved from a rigorous academic perspective, always relying on primary sources and on the works of respected scholars.

This passion has recently led me to enroll in a BA in Classics, in order to expand my knowledge of literature and mythology beyond the Germanic world, and to be able to access ancient Greek and Latin sources directly without having to rely on translations.

Even though the beginning of my experience on the Mythology & Folklore Stack Exchange is relatively recent, I have established myself as one of its most active members, with answers which are always focused on quoting the appropriate passages from sources and literature, and on citing relevant scholarship.

Questionnaire
  1. How would you deal with a user who produced a steady stream of valuable answers, but tends to generate a large number of arguments/flags from comments?

I believe our goal as moderators is to maintain a healthy and welcoming environment in the long run. With this in mind, keeping the site friendly and positive for new users is more important than the good answers of a single user. This should be made clear to them as soon as possible, and if they are not willing to understand that their good answers do not compensate their hostility, a temporary suspension might be necessary.

  1. How would you handle a situation where another mod closed/deleted/etc. a question that you feel shouldn’t have been?

I would communicate with the other moderator and make my case for the question, while keeping in mind that moderators will not always 100% agree on all issues. At the same time, I would communicate with the user and give them tips on how to make their question (and future ones) more acceptable.

  1. In your opinion, what do moderators do?

I think there are two equally important sides to the work of the mod team. One is somewhat hidden, and it amounts to keeping the site clean (from conflict, spam, low quality content, etc.). The other side is more visible, and involves interacting directly with the users, mostly by giving advice on how to keep the quality of their content as high as possible.

  1. 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?

From my very first contribution to this website, I have always tried to provide high quality content. I have flagged my own comments which were no longer needed, and I have encouraged other users to clarify their questions and answers. In many ways, I have always behaved the way I think a moderator should behave: finally becoming one just feels natural to me.

  1. In what way do you feel that being a moderator will make you more effective as opposed to simply reaching enough reputation to access moderator tools or become a trusted user?

Being in the mod team will make it easier for me to interact with the Stack Exchange team when needed.

Link
reviews | meta posts

Chenmunka

I would like to volunteer my services to continue as part of the moderator team for this site.

I have over fifty years experience of studying myths from around the world. This started from growing up in Glastonbury, the Isle of Avalon itself. I now live in Wiltshire, surrounded by many sites of significance in British and Celtic myth. This started my quest to see what other places and other myths were out there, looking for parallels and contrasts.

Irrespective of whether you call it religion, mythology, folklore or just a cracked pot-boiler, it fascinates me.

In the 1990s I spent some time working in Korea. During which time I was able to look more deeply into far eastern mythology, including visiting the Tripitaka at Haeinsa.

I have followed this site from its inception on Area51, having proposed a number of succesful example questions. I have almost eleven years experience of the StackExchange system and have been a moderator on other sites for the last eight - two years on this site.

I would welcome the opportunity to help this site continue to grow to become a legendary source of information in its own right.

Questionnaire
  1. How would you deal with a user who produced a steady stream of valuable answers, but tends to generate a large number of arguments/flags from comments?

This has happened on other sites. Once it becomes noticeable that a lot of antagonism is being generated, start gently. Adding comments to be nice can work. Then, where there is a long comment argument, move it to chat and add statements there to keep arguments off the main site - in chat newcomers to the site won't see the argument so are less likely to be put off contributing by it. That usually works. I have only needed to issue a brief suspension once but if necessary, it must be done. It did work.

  1. How would you handle a situation where another mod closed/deleted/etc. a question that you feel shouldn’t have been?

First, contact the other mod. They may have seen something that I missed. Agree upon any further action, if any is to be taken. Keep in mind the response from the community, there may be comments or meta posts about the other mod's action.

  1. In your opinion, what do moderators do?

Referee. A moderator doesn't own the site, so must keep the site moving in the direction that the community wants. Offer guidance to new users, allow them time to amend posts that are considered low quality rather than stomp on them. Except of course if the post is spam or just plain offensive.

  1. 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?

I have been an ombudsman, an auditor, a manager and a referee in various activities in real life. It is incumbent upon an moderator to be circumspect in any pronouncements and as equitable as possible. This doesn't worry me, I have plenty of experience.

  1. In what way do you feel that being a moderator will make you more effective as opposed to simply reaching enough reputation to access moderator tools or become a trusted user?

High reputation users are valuable in helping moderate the site, especially in providing round the clock eyes on the site, but the tools don't give all the information. Cross-site moderator communications and ready access to the Community Managers can give fuller information about an issue than can be found by other means and can result in quicker resolution where necessary.

Link
reviews | meta posts
2

cmw

I would like to nominate myself—cmw—as a moderator of Mythology & Folklore.

As a user, I've been here since almost the beginning of its beta release. In my time, I've become a leading (by points) active member, posting nearly a hundred answers, all positive, and a couple questions, too. I've also been active on Meta, and I always check the review queues.

I'm also a former academic with a PhD that largely incorporated not only Greek mythology, but also mythology from the ancient Near East and Egypt. I taught undergraduate courses about and tangential to mythology for years. My research has been published in both academic and popular/student publications, and I can fashion my answers in the same way.

Finally, I also serve as a moderator for StackExchange's Latin site, and have been for a few years now. I am very familiar with StackExchange's moderator tools, resources, and policies, and have a solid sense of what makes these sites thrive.

Questionnaire
  1. How would you deal with a user who produced a steady stream of valuable answers, but tends to generate a large number of arguments/flags from comments?

An answer does not exist in a vacuum. Someone who is knowledgeable yet toxic to the community can still have an overall negative net effect. As a moderator already, what we've generally found is dialogue and encouragement go a long ways in helping inform users and enforce community rules and norms. If that fails to effect a change, eventually moderators as a group need to step in with a mod warning to let them know that frequent hostile and disruptive actions are not mitigated by good answers. The chord to be struck typically balances both a firm stance on constant rule-breaking and a reminder that they are valued and that we would like to help if they are willing to put in the effort.

  1. How would you handle a situation where another mod closed/deleted/etc. a question that you feel shouldn’t have been?

A good mod team works together. Sometimes a private message in the moderator chat is all that's needed to clarify opinions. Sometimes a public note is necessary just so that users know that they are allowed and encouraged to chime in on decisions one way or another. Either way, acting with reasonable consensus is an important part of moderators' teamwork.

  1. In your opinion, what do moderators do?

Moderators chiefly act as janitors: closing bad questions, opening up revised questions, removing spam, and deleting comments that are no longer needed. But we also serve as the face of the site, which means moderators should encourage new users, act with decorum and civility in their exchanges, and generally lead by example.

  1. 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?

Of course no one is perfect, but I'm comfortable with my answers on here, Latin, History, Linguistics, Literature, and wherever else I post.

  1. In what way do you feel that being a moderator will make you more effective as opposed to simply reaching enough reputation to access moderator tools or become a trusted user?

I have the experience of a moderator already, and that familiarity means I would be able to jump right in and help out, not only with moderator tools but also the wider StackExchange moderator community.

Link
reviews | meta posts

This election is over.