The first moderator elections for scifi.stackoverflow.com are now underway! Back in February 2011 we gained “pro tempore” moderators, whose task was to guide the site through the beta phase (before then the Stack Exchange staff filled this role). Now that the site is fully launched, the community gets to elect its own moderators.
Moderators are the patient, respectful, and fair folk that lead the site and get access to the most powerful moderation tools and a few special resources. There’s not much in the way of reward, but there’s plenty of work, so we should be thankful to all of those that have put their name forward, and especially those that end up with the job.
Once elected, the moderators hold their office permanently, so you need to make sure that you get the mods that you want. Likewise, if you want to be a moderator, then this will be your last chance for likely a long time.
The election process is composed of two stages (or three if we get more than 10 nominees, which looks unlikely). The first, which ends in three days, is nominations. Any community member with at least 300 reputation may nominate themselves (you cannot nominate someone else – encourage them to nominate themselves instead). Each nominee writes a brief outline explaining why they are a good candidate, and anyone can comment on these – indeed you are encouraged to do so: ask the candidates anything that will help you make up your mind as to where your votes go.
We’re about to enter the election phase, when all members with at least 150 reputation can cast three votes: 1st choice, 2nd choice, and 3rd choice. All votes are private until the election is complete, at which point the election data file (the vote totals for all the candidates; no identification of who voted for whom) will be freely and permanently downloadable by anyone. The winners are determined using the Meek STV method.
There’s going to be a chat event where you can ask the candidates questions to better inform your vote. See this meta post for details about when it’s scheduled, or just keep an eye on the chat room calendar. You can also post questions on meta, if you find that better than chat.
Democracy is a highly imperfect process, but it is a participatory imperfect process. Please participate in our community elections. Your vote is your voice, so use it!