2014 Moderator Election Q&A - Questionnaire

Question

In connection with the moderator elections, we are holding a Q&A thread for the candidates. Questions collected from an earlier thread have been compiled into this one, which shall now serve as the space for the candidates to provide their answers. Not every question was compiled - as noted, we only selected the top 8 questions as submitted by the community, plus 2 pre-set questions from us.

As a candidate, your job is simple - post an answer to this question, citing each of the questions and then post your answer to each question given in that same answer. For your convenience, I will include all of the questions in quote format with a break in between each, suitable for you to insert your answers. Just copy the whole thing after the first set of three dashes.

Once all the answers have been compiled, this will serve as a transcript for voters to view the thoughts of their candidates, and will be appropriately linked in the Election page.

Good luck to all of the candidates!

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Ask Ubuntu currently has the lowest Percent Answered of any Stack Exchange site. What do you feel caused this, and what is your personal opinion on whether - and how - to change that?

 

What is, in your opinion as a potential future moderator, the biggest problem that Ask Ubuntu faces? If you were to get elected, what actions would you take towards resolving this issue?

 

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?

 

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

 

As a moderator, your votes become binding. Actions you used to take like flagging, closing, and deleting will take effect immediately without any input from any other users or moderators.

How will you adapt the way you currently flag and vote to deal with this change?

 

Getting a reputation on this website is based on your technical skills/knowledge. What proves us that you know how to handle people? How do you feel current moderators go about handling people?

 

A new user has arrived and doesn't really understand the way the Stack Exchange system is supposed to work. They're complaining that people keep editing their posts and a roll back war has started on a question that they've asked. You need to step in and moderate the situation. What actions do you take?

 

While the moderator position you're nominating yourself for is a voluntary position, there is a minimum amount of time that you would need to be available in order to be an effective moderator. How much time do you currently spend using Ask Ubuntu and are there any known circumstances in which this will change in the future?

Answer 1

Ask Ubuntu currently has the lowest Percent Answered of any Stack Exchange site. What do you feel caused this, and what is your personal opinion on whether - and how - to change that?

What do I feel caused this? I feel that a lack of voters (both up/down and close) is one of the main reasons. Questions that have good, but unaccepted, answers are never marked answered if no one upvotes the answer. Questions that are duplicates or low quality never get closed if no one flags are votes on them.

One thing we (as a site) can do is close unclear questions immediately. This will help with drive-by askers who never reply to comments. We also need to use up/down votes more, because these things drive the site.

I often wish the moderators we have would help with the close vote queue a bit more, when it gets too big for the Community to handle (like it is now, over 200 questions). If elected, this is something I plan on keeping an eye on.  

What is, in your opinion as a potential future moderator, the biggest problem that Ask Ubuntu faces? If you were to get elected, what actions would you take towards resolving this issue?

In my opinion the biggest problem Ask Ubuntu faces is probably lack of question moderation. I would encourage users to downvote badly written and unclear questions, to edit and improve titles and grammar and to use close votes and flags. If you are answering a question, try to clean up the grammar, tags and title if possible.

I'm also interested and seeing Oli's question wizard implemented to help users ask good questions and not ask dupes.  

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 think this question is a bit too broad, there are many things that could be going on here. It could be users being overly sensitive to language, it could be an OP (OP in this case meaning answerer) that is too chatty, an offensive OP, or just someone being too assertive of their opinion.

In any case I would leave a comment for the user explaining what they are doing wrong and politely asking them to stop. If the user(s) persist I would talk to another moderator about the situation, to first make sure that I'm not the run in the wrong then decide what action to take next. It could be anywhere from editing, deletion, and, in extreme cases, bans.  

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

First I would ask the moderator that did the action what his/her reasoning was, and present my own view of the case. I would then try to come to a agreement with the moderator on how to leave the situation. Additional steps may be taken if the Community is especially worried about it, including posting to meta.  

As a moderator, your votes become binding. Actions you used to take like flagging, closing, and deleting will take effect immediately without any input from any other users or moderators.

How will you adapt the way you currently flag and vote to deal with this change?

The fact that my actions will take effect immediately will certainly make me think a little longer over decisions and review them to make sure they were correct.

As the old saying goes: "Measure twice, cut once!"  

Getting a reputation on this website is based on your technical skills/knowledge. What proves us that you know how to handle people? How do you feel current moderators go about handling people?

Tough question!

The only proof I can give that I know how to handle people is with my current conduct. Patience is key in the job of a moderator.

I believe the current moderators are doing an ok job handling people; although I sometimes think a little more patience would be useful.  

A new user has arrived and doesn't really understand the way the Stack Exchange system is supposed to work. They're complaining that people keep editing their posts and a roll back war has started on a question that they've asked. You need to step in and moderate the situation. What actions do you take?

The first thing I would do is lock the post and stop the edit war. Then, depending on the situation, I would leave a comment for the OP explaining how the Stack Exchange system works and that there is nothing wrong with having your question/answer edited.

I might also leave a comment (depending on the situation) for the other user, asking them to not be so picky (changing American/British spelling and stuff like that).  

While the moderator position you're nominating yourself for is a voluntary position, there is a minimum amount of time that you would need to be available in order to be an effective moderator. How much time do you currently spend using Ask Ubuntu and are there any known circumstances in which this will change in the future?

I usually spend from 30 minutes to and hour and a half or so actually using Ask Ubuntu on a good day, but I check the flag and review queues on and off all day. I won't be available quite as much in the summer, but it doesn't usually effect my participation much.

Answer 2

Ask Ubuntu currently has the lowest Percent Answered of any Stack Exchange site. What do you feel caused this, and what is your personal opinion on whether - and how - to change that?

Integration is the key. When you contribute to have a pro-active community, you are building an integrated system where any question will be integrated correctly with its environment.

Solution: bring activity to every post.

 

What is, in your opinion as a potential future moderator, the biggest problem that Ask Ubuntu faces? If you were to get elected, what actions would you take towards resolving this issue?

SPAM is always the kill it with fire on my list. But as moderator, a leader by example, would be helpful to interact with low-reputation users to let everyone know that they can contribute in large ways (as it is).

 

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?

Talk. You need to unsure that the user knows what he is doing is wrong.
If he keeps doing it, warn him for a future sanction, but I have no idea what are the mod tools here :D

 

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

1. Ask my self if what I think is correct.
2. Ask to others users about their opinions.
3. Talk with the moderator to reach a consensus solution.

 

As a moderator, your votes become binding. Actions you used to take like flagging, closing, and deleting will take effect immediately without any input from any other users or moderators.

How will you adapt the way you currently flag and vote to deal with this change?

Slow down actions. The same way when I reached 3K privileges I stopped to make too many edits, until I learned to handle that power.

 

Getting a reputation on this website is based on your technical skills/knowledge. What proves us that you know how to handle people? How do you feel current moderators go about handling people?

This is the most important skill that every moderator should have; because IMO reputation is secondary.

I use the chat a lot, to listen to others, discuss or simple say Hi.

Currents mods are really nice people, always available. We need more people like them!

 

A new user has arrived and doesn't really understand the way the Stack Exchange system is supposed to work. They're complaining that people keep editing their posts and a roll back war has started on a question that they've asked. You need to step in and moderate the situation. What actions do you take?

Again, talk.

1. First with the OP, let him know how does it work.
2. Then with any user(s) that has participated on the "edit war" to let him/them know that a mod is handling the situation.

 

While the moderator position you're nominating yourself for is a voluntary position, there is a minimum amount of time that you would need to be available in order to be an effective moderator. How much time do you currently spend using Ask Ubuntu and are there any known circumstances in which this will change in the future?

I work with computers, so be here daily is common for me.

Tomorrow I start my vacations, the only moment on the year were I go off-line for 1 week.

See you next week! Mod or not, I'll be here :)

Answer 3

Ask Ubuntu currently has the lowest Percent Answered of any Stack Exchange site. What do you feel caused this, and what is your personal opinion on whether - and how - to change that?

This is multifactor. There were a multitude of events that allowed the current state. To quote some:

• Lax of the enforcement of quality standards.
• The exposition of the site as support channel.
• Lack of a sentiment of owning by the community.

As a multifactorial problem we would need a multifactorial solution which should be consensuated. I've already proposed the ones I considered are ready for being implemented while I'm still giving form to others.

What is, in your opinion as a potential future moderator, the biggest problem that Ask Ubuntu faces? If you were to get elected, what actions would you take towards resolving this issue?

I would say two. Lack of participation of the community in the governance/moderation of the community. This could be seen in the lack of participation in the meta site and the review queues. And the lack of a clear leadership. I know AU is self governed but if those member of the community aren't active in the decision making then someone(s) needs to lead them. This is where moderators could give a hand. Of course, the leadership is not something everyone has and is not that everybody will follow but if you give to the community the power that was theirs it would be the best.

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 should be deal in steps, and depends the gravity of the situation. I would treat them nice but firm.

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

I first should evaluate why I think why it should be closed/deleted/etc. Kind of "put myself in other shoes", since there might be something I missed or I don't know in the moment. Once I do this, I could ask if I was spot on of why the action was done and what I would have done instead and why. If consensus is reached, is fine. If not I would expose my POV and why I think the action should be reverted.

As a moderator, your votes become binding. Actions you used to take like flagging, closing, and deleting will take effect immediately without any input from any other users or moderators.

How will you adapt the way you currently flag and vote to deal with this change?

There is nothing to adapt. I did the best action could be done in the pertinent circumstances. If I was wrong, it's easy to revert it back.

Getting a reputation on this website is based on your technical skills/knowledge. What proves us that you know how to handle people? How do you feel current moderators go about handling people?

I have already handled people, most of them in person with my voluntary work and as social assistance agent (this term change from country to country). I am currently moderator of a small community of users online. I have already participated in events where moderating and debating skills was a must.

I normally don't see current moderators handling people outside the meta. I know they do but in ways I can't see or are unaware of due to focus on answering questions or in the site, but when I do, I haven't seen a poor handling of the situation at hand.

A new user has arrived and doesn't really understand the way the Stack Exchange system is supposed to work. They're complaining that people keep editing their posts and a roll back war has started on a question that they've asked. You need to step in and moderate the situation. What actions do you take?

I would first explain that the edit was made in good faith. That is one of the main features in the site editing each one posts. If I see that the edit actually increases the possibility of a good answer I will make a note about that. If the user still feels dissatisfied with the edit I would propose that himself try to improve certain points that may need some tuning. That's best case scenario.

Worse case scenario I would need to lock the post after explaining the specific reasons to do so.

While the moderator position you're nominating yourself for is a voluntary position, there is a minimum amount of time that you would need to be available in order to be an effective moderator. How much time do you currently spend using Ask Ubuntu and are there any known circumstances in which this will change in the future?

I spend more of my day here (in SE), but no consecutively. And no, there are no known circumstances foreseeable that this will change. If anything my time here will increase.

Answer 4

I think that talking about something, and doing it can be a lot different. So I will try to be as best as I can as a Moderator, but at the end of that day, we're all humans. Feel free to comment, criticize, etc.

Ask Ubuntu currently has the lowest Percent Answered of any Stack Exchange site. What do you feel caused this, and what is your personal opinion on whether - and how - to change that?

• It would be nice to have more close votes, and maybe improve the search feature.
• More new users than that don't have the required knowledge
• New users don't vote answers as accepted
• They don't search before asking

What is, in your opinion as a potential future moderator, the biggest problem that Ask Ubuntu faces? If you were to get elected, what actions would you take towards resolving this issue?

A lot of people tend to think of it as another forum. I'll try to do what I can to change that image, and hopefully try to change there point of view.

Also working with the users, and try to let them know not to take it personal. We are all here for a reason, to help each other get our problems solved.

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?

• Take a look first the comments that users leave
• Decide what type of comments are they (constructive, offensive, etc.)
• Discuss it with other moderates

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

As I said in my comments, the best thing to do is to Listen, keep it simple, maintain professionalism, and try to see the other moderator's point of view. Sometimes disagreements are good because they make you rethink things over.

As a moderator, your votes become binding. Actions you used to take like flagging, closing, and deleting will take effect immediately without any input from any other users or moderators.

I'll keep doing what I do now, read the question/answer more that once, put myself in the OP's shoe, and try to understand what they're trying to say.

How will you adapt the way you currently flag and vote to deal with this change?

I probably won't change much. I'll still read, and research before committing

Getting a reputation on this website is based on your technical skills/knowledge. What proves us that you know how to handle people? How do you feel current moderators go about handling people?

I will do the same thing that I do at work, I'll take the time to understand the other person, help figure out the problem, and help in solving it. As far as the current moderators, I feel that they do a great job, but I also feel that some of them do more than others, and that's OK, we all have other thing to deal with, and that's why we need more moderators, so we can all help each other make Ask Ubuntu a better place.

A new user has arrived and doesn't really understand the way the Stack Exchange system is supposed to work. They're complaining that people keep editing their posts and a roll back war has started on a question that they've asked. You need to step in and moderate the situation. What actions do you take?

• Get there point of view.
• See exactly what they're trying to ask about.
• Explain how that system works.
• Show them that what's being done is to improve there question/Answer, to make it better.

While the moderator position you're nominating yourself for is a voluntary position, there is a minimum amount of time that you would need to be available in order to be an effective moderator. How much time do you currently spend using Ask Ubuntu and are there any known circumstances in which this will change in the future?

I already spend about 4-6 hours or more a day, and I have no problems spending a extra couple of hours for moderator stuff. I don't know of any known circumstances in which this will change in the future, but if that happens, I'm sure I can work things out. All I have to say, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Answer 5

I am searchfgold6789. I welcome your votes at my nomination. You can view my profile here, which contains links to all my activity on the site.

Ask Ubuntu currently has the lowest Percent Answered of any Stack Exchange site. What do you feel caused this, and what is your personal opinion on whether - and how - to change that?

The high amount of incoming low-quality, nigh-unanswerable questions caused those statistics. The community just doesn't have what it takes to handle that.

I propose we make changes to the site to better communicate to incoming users. Things like including specific text, links, and read messages on the Ask Question page, and reforming the How to Ask page.

We can also communicate to other sites that funnel people to us, asking them to make an effort to more accurately portray Ask Ubuntu or improve their own resources.

What is, in your opinion as a potential future moderator, the biggest problem that Ask Ubuntu faces? If you were to get elected, what actions would you take towards resolving this issue?

The biggest problem we face is that we need a higher percentage of experts (or a lower percentage of non-experts).

We are a Stack Exchange (SE) site. SE sites are by definition designed to welcome in new users and make it as easy as possible for them. In other words, it's a very open and friendly system. This works very well with other sites like Server Fault and Music, because those are professional communities. Most of the people hanging out there are experts. We are a community of people with a variety of talents, and they may not be experts in the Linux operating system and could be clueless in asking an educated question.

Since we attract many non-experts, we (again) need to make them experts in asking questions. This can be done by providing better assistance to users when they first click on that "Ask a Question" link.

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?

It depends on whether I'm on his side in his arguments!

But in all seriousness, usually such users that are really trying trying to be helpful remain helpful even in the comment, it's the question askers debating whether or not their question should be debated upon that can get nasty. Long but non-abusive arguments should be moved to chat; the site has methods for dealing with this. Foul/abusive comments should be removed, and if the user persists in being disrespectful, mods have the authority to remove the content, and if necessary, ban the user.

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

I would ask the moderator (or moderators) why the question was dealt with in the way it was. If they can't change my mind, I would try to change the other moderator's/moderators' mind, try to get it reopened, or raise something on Meta, depending on the situation.

As a moderator, your votes become binding. Actions you used to take like flagging, closing, and deleting will take effect immediately without any input from any other users or moderators. How will you adapt the way you currently flag and vote to deal with this change?

I won't change the way I currently flag. I reserve flagging for the stuff that is clearly beyond improvement. Usually, comments can be made on the question requesting more information, or edits can be done. I'm not above taking a link-only answer and expanding it, for example.

Getting a reputation on this website is based on your technical skills/knowledge. What proves us that you know how to handle people? How do you feel current moderators go about handling people?

It's part of my job to handle people and to be a good leader, as a choir director. I am fully confident that this has prepared me to communicate with and understand all types of people and take the initiative to be a good leader.

A new user has arrived and doesn't really understand the way the Stack Exchange system is supposed to work. They're complaining that people keep editing their posts and a roll back war has started on a question that they've asked. You need to step in and moderate the situation. What actions do you take?

Revert them to the FAQ page and explain that people are just trying to help. People should understand that it's not out of ill will that their posts are being edited and stop fighting back.

Mods have the ability to make a final edit and lock posts, if it comes to it.

While the moderator position you're nominating yourself for is a voluntary position, there is a minimum amount of time that you would need to be available in order to be an effective moderator. How much time do you currently spend using Ask Ubuntu and are there any known circumstances in which this will change in the future?

I am here all times of the day. I would spend anywhere from one hour to four hours a day, total, on Ask Ubuntu. I am always reachable. I will disappear on certain weeks during the summer for musical training. The community will know well in advance on these weeks.

Answer 6

Ask Ubuntu currently has the lowest Percent Answered of any Stack Exchange site. What do you feel caused this, and what is your personal opinion on whether - and how - to change that?

I think this is primarily due to the type of attention this site receives. We are regarded as the main outlet of support for the Ubuntu OS, so

• We tend to get very very specific, hence unanswerable questions.
• Many of the users who ask questions never come back to select an appropriate answer.
• The users fail to search whether the question is already asked.
• We do not have sufficient close votes to close all these cases.

I think this will be solved if:

• We have more close votes.
• By immediately closing down questions that are unclear.
• More moderation help in the close vote queue(Last time i've checked, we have roughly ~200 close votes all the time)
• Implementation of Oli's wizard

What is, in your opinion as a potential future moderator, the biggest problem that Ask Ubuntu faces? If you were to get elected, what actions would you take towards resolving this issue?

Well, I'd try to help the users to clear the backlog in the close votes queue. I'd also encourage users to downvote and attempt to salvage very poorly asked questions. Along with that I will also assist in dealing with the spam wave's we've been recieving frequently

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?

Depends on what types of comments they generate.I will politely but firmly deal with them as required.

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

I would contact that moderator and sort out the situation by asking him his reasons, and giving him mine, and if a decision can't be taken, maybe contact other mods or raise it on meta.

How will you adapt the way you currently flag and vote to deal with this change?

I would avoid casting the first two close votes on a question in most cases, as the community must also be able to vote on it. But spam, as usual will be immediately dealt with.

A new user has arrived and doesn't really understand the way the Stack Exchange system is supposed to work. They're complaining that people keep editing their posts and a roll back war has started on a question that they've asked. You need to step in and moderate the situation. What actions do you take?

Obviously, I'd explain how the system works first. It he still has an issue,I would reason with him and the editor, to come up with a solution.

Getting a reputation on this website is based on your technical skills/knowledge. What proves us that you know how to handle people? How do you feel current moderators go about handling people?

IMHO Reputation is not the primary requirement for moderation. I think I can handle people well, I'm almost always available and active on chat. I have handled people IRL before too, as a leader.

Yes, the current moderators are doing a good job at it :)

Answer 7

Ask Ubuntu currently has the lowest Percent Answered of any Stack Exchange site. What do you feel caused this...

Multiple factors contribute:

• The rapidly changing nature of the OS (and supplementary applications, utilities and drivers) lead to poor source documentation. Those of us who are good at primary research but are not skilled at reading code are disadvantaged here, much more so than, oh say, Amateur Radio, Aviation, or Role Playing Games (three other SE sites I often visit).

• The aggressive culture of this site. Unix and Linux and Super User mods and responders are more gentle and less dismissive to posters.

• Ubuntu is being marketed and evangelized to less savvy users, and less savvy users don't understand SE as well as users of other SE sites. They don't understand the significance of selecting the best answer, and I think an analysis of the percentage of accepted answers is also low.

• Although I have not done a study to validate this, I think AU has a higher rate of 1-point posters, folks who step in, ask a question, and don't come back. We're not cultivating a broad-based community of responders, but instead a narrowly-based group of answerers who are overworked and therefore don't have as much time to dig for solutions.

and what is your personal opinion on whether - and how - to change that?

It must be changed.

• I firmly believe that if we are to fulfill the intent of Ubuntu, to "bring the spirit of Ubuntu to the world of computers," we must be more humane, more positive and less dismissive.

• We also need to educate our users better. We're looking at a flood coming, a surge of new Ubuntu users as XPmageddon shall arrive in 44 days (as of 2/22). We have one chance to make a first impression, and I intend to lead from the front with a more user-friendly introduction to the SE Way of Doing Things, and better explanations of why we do what we do, and more encouragement to folks to participate in multiple ways.

What is, in your opinion as a potential future moderator, the biggest problem that Ask Ubuntu faces? If you were to get elected, what actions would you take towards resolving this issue?

We have little time to prepare for the aforementioned flood of former Windows users. I would use that time to prepare lucid explanations of why we consolidate duplicate posts to build a better answerbase, better explain the editing rationale and process, use post-posting surveys to analyze new poster reaction to their first exposure to AU, and ask every person who answers questions to devote a specific time in their day to come back and help other AU users by researching and answering open questions, and thereby stretching their knowledge of Ubuntu.

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?

Explain to the user in question that I don't want to ride herd on their posts to edit those which are tone-deaf, badly stated and inflammatory, and ask them to self-moderate; to be a more effective poster by not only responding with information, but to also respond in a way which encourages others to answer questions, too.

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

Raise the issue with them; ask them why they closed it. Maybe they see something I didn't.

As a moderator, your votes become binding. Actions you used to take like flagging, closing, and deleting will take effect immediately without any input from any other users or moderators. How will you adapt the way you currently flag and vote to deal with this change?

I figure, if elected, it's because I am seen as an alternative, a new voice for change. Therefore, if elected, I will spend a week looking at the top 100 issues, and then ask my fellow mods to consult on why these issues keep coming back, and how we can find a different way to solve them. I would continue to be reticent to close threads, but if we are to build a better answerbase for Ubuntu users, we must not only flag and delete posts, we must also ask ourselves how can we help users grow into better researchers and better use the questionbase that's accumulated.

Getting a reputation on this website is based on your technical skills/knowledge. What proves us that you know how to handle people? How do you feel current moderators go about handling people?

I point to my decade of experience in the FreeGeek community, six years of formal post-secondary IT classroom instruction and my Red Cross Disaster Services work, where I deal with a very diverse selection of folks who often are not at their best and can be very frustrated/frustrating. I feel that current mods are overworked and a new approach to managing the workload will result in much happier mods with better 'tudes.

A new user has arrived and doesn't really understand the way the Stack Exchange system is supposed to work. They're complaining that people keep editing their posts and a roll back war has started on a question that they've asked. You need to step in and moderate the situation. What actions do you take?

Gee, been there, done that from the other side. I would do what no one did for me when I entered this site and encountered the laissez-faire editing here; I would explain we edit to make it easier to find answers through improving not only the answers but also the questions.

While the moderator position you're nominating yourself for is a voluntary position, there is a minimum amount of time that you would need to be available in order to be an effective moderator. How much time do you currently spend using Ask Ubuntu and are there any known circumstances in which this will change in the future?

I now spend an hour or two two or three times a week. If selected, I would commit to two hours daily, six days a week, which is easily done as I have just ended a significant time-consuming volunteer position and have the time, even though I spend 10 hours a week at Freegeek on the Tech Support lines and another 10 hours monthly teaching Freegeek classes, which, OBTW, indicates a serious dedication to Ubuntu, IMHO.

Answer 8

Ask Ubuntu currently has the lowest Percent Answered of any Stack Exchange site. What do you feel caused this, and what is your personal opinion on whether - and how - to change that?

Sometimes I think it is part of being a more popular site, but when I look at the type and quality of some of the new questions - It seems to be a misconception of what we do, or at least of what we expect.

I often envision that the questions on this site should be more like the radio show "Car Talk" (some might not know what this is, but callers call in with "car" questions/problems - these are not the normal "I drove my car into a ditch, What do I do now?" questions, these are things like "I dropped a bag of marbles, I thought I found them all but can still hear some rolling around in the car somewhere, now what?"

This all goes back to saying that we are not a one on one tech support site - call your mechanic/tech support/system manager first.

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What is, in your opinion as a potential future moderator, the biggest problem that Ask Ubuntu faces? If you were to get elected, what actions would you take towards resolving this issue?

Various trolls and spammers have have certainly had an effect on how we interact with new users recently, some have reduces their participation - focused efforts on spam waves, sometimes it seems a shoot first ask questions later approach has been adopted.

So stepping in these specific situations when necessary, as well working with current users and encouraging them not to treat other users differently because of spammers/trolls.

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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?

It may depend on the nature of the comments, but if they are abusive - firstly removing abusive comments, consulting with other mods, and sending a message that they are being consistently negative in their comments. If the user continues to refuse to be civil further action may need to be taken.

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

First talk to the mod one on one on, on the reason they felt that action should be taken. Then consult with that mod and other mods on how the question could be better presented and edited/reopened/undeleted - if it was a good but not specific issue and the user was simply being abusive - it may be good to ask the question personally(but without the drama/negativity), If the reason is there are good answers possibly find the good answers a home in a duplicate question.

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As a moderator, your votes become binding. Actions you used to take like flagging, closing, and deleting will take effect immediately without any input from any other users or moderators.

How will you adapt the way you currently flag and vote to deal with this change?

Read three times - vote once. It will mean that the pace of closing will slow down - because of being sure that the case is not an edge case. And also will mean relying on the direction of the community for guidance - not "grabbing the wheel of the ship" so to say, by making meta posts to judge the direction we are taking on things, and carrying out those decisions.

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Getting a reputation on this website is based on your technical skills/knowledge. What proves us that you know how to handle people? How do you feel current moderators go about handling people?

I have always been more active in chat, and active with meta posts, many times I will comment on a question for clarification before formulating a answer(a the same time about 3 others post wildly speculative answers), that is one reason for having a relatively light "rep" score, compared to my other contributions.

Currently it seems some current moderators have a hands off approach (if not they are efficient behind the scenes - which would be good), or a wait till the user rage quits / goes crazy, both extremes are not good for the site.

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A new user has arrived and doesn't really understand the way the Stack Exchange system is supposed to work. They're complaining that people keep editing their posts and a roll back war has started on a question that they've asked. You need to step in and moderate the situation. What actions do you take?

First comment that users are editing to clarify and help the post (if a another has not already done so). If a user was extreme in an edit - adjust to bring removed information back into the post, while still improving the post. If the action continues, lock the post - and if necessary send a message explaining how editing works on the site works.

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While the moderator position you're nominating yourself for is a voluntary position, there is a minimum amount of time that you would need to be available in order to be an effective moderator. How much time do you currently spend using Ask Ubuntu and are there any known circumstances in which this will change in the future?

Several hours during the day, at various times during the day, also in chat rooms. Also have the Stack Exchange app on my phone, as well as e-mail notifications, so I should be able to be gotten a hold of in certain situations. I don't foresee this changing.