Moderation Update

Author: bsh1

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bsh1
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Aloha, DART!

First, Ramshutu has been appointed as an Assistant Voting Moderator. His appointment will be officially effectuated at 8:00pm, EST, on 5/8/2019 (today). He will now have the power to render moderation decisions on votes cast on debates, with oversight from myself and Virtuoso. His powers are confined to vote moderation, and he does not have authority to act for moderation in other moderation remits. I, Virt, and Mike are all excited to have him on board, and to again have a member of the moderation team dedicated to handling votes. Welcome!

Second, an official Moderation Extended Policies and Interpretations has been published. This document includes various moderation policies which are either too insignificant to include in the COC, are tangential to the COC, or both. It is my hope that this document will be instructive for both users and moderators.

Please feel free to use this thread to comment on either of this topics. This thread will be locked in 48 hours. Thank you.

-Bsh1, Chief Moderator
David
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Welcome Ramshutu. RIp
Our_Boat_is_Right
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aye ram nice job
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@bsh1
yeah i'm not reading that long ass google doc lmao
Alec
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@David
@bsh1
I think there should be a ratio between mods and users on this site.  Currently, there are about 240 users and 3 mods.  I think the ratio of users to mods should be between 60:1 and 100:1.  Currently, we're fine according to this ratio, but I think DART will regularly have to appoint new (consenting) mods.
Alec
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@Ramshutu
Forgot to add you.  Sorry about that.
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@Ramshutu
TheRealNihilist
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@David
@bsh1
@Ramshutu
Old Moderators: Did he have to go through an interview?
New Moderator: Did you have to go through an interview? 
TheRealNihilist
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@Alec
 I think the ratio of users to mods should be between 60:1 and 100:1.
Did you have a reason for this or is it arbitrary? 
RationalMadman
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good job, congrats.
Alec
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@TheRealNihilist
If the active user to mod ratio gets too high, then the site will crash like DDO.  The moderators for DDO got overworked, which caused them to quit.
oromagi
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But but who will vote all the shite debates now?
bsh1
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@Our_Boat_is_Right
yeah i'm not reading that long ass google doc lmao
Lol. That's totally up to you.
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@TheRealNihilist
Yes. He went through a vetting process. First, Virt and I discussed, from our observations, potential candidates. When we reached out to Ram, we made it clear that his appointment was contingent on an interview process whereby he rendered mock-decisions on a variety of real RFDs. Having been convinced of his ability by that interview process, we decided to appoint him and got Mike's okay to do so.
bsh1
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@Alec
For me, it's more impressionistic. If we, as mods, feel overwhelmed, that's probably our cue that we need help. If we are feeling like we're keeping up with things pretty well, then we're probably fine. Plus, there are a finite and small number of users I would actually feel confident in appointing, which puts an upward limit on the number of mods we could have.
bsh1
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@oromagi
But but who will vote all the shite debates now?
Ram is still free to vote, he just can't moderate his own votes. 
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@bsh1
whew
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@bsh1
I support this.
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@Greyparrot
+1

nac
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@bsh1
You can count on Ram being extremely consistent, which is perfect for this role.
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@Greyparrot
agreed.  Ram is the best possible choice.
Speedrace
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@bsh1
@Ramshutu
What does one have to do to get such a position? It sounds like fun :O

Also, congratulations Ramshutu, it's well deserved :)
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Image of first dodge ram in USA. Wow, I never new. May take  Shutu a while  to reach operational speeds in this contraption.  Lucky he has a Warp Speed moderator already in driver seat :--)


David
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@Speedrace
What does one have to do to get such a position? It sounds like fun :O
From the new member FAQ:

A: One may become a moderator if appointed to the position by the site owner or the chief moderator.
Effectively whenever we need a new moderator, bsh and I discuss internally members of the site that we would trust with that position and who would make a good fit. When we look for moderators, we look for high-quality members who are consistently active, generally well-liked, and have no major infraction points against them. 
Death23
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Hooray for Ramshutu!
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@David
Gotcha, I’m around if you ever need help
Ramshutu
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Thanks to everyone for the supportive messages, I take this role pretty seriously, as I know how frustrating it is as a voter to have what you feel is a good vote removed - and as a debater to have what you consider a bad vote remain in place. 

I’ll be doing my best, and will always be happy (as I am currently), to discuss votes or decisions


TheRealNihilist
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@Alec
If the active user to mod ratio gets too high, then the site will crash like DDO.  The moderators for DDO got overworked, which caused them to quit.
Do you have evidence or are you trying to find an answer in something you don't have evidence for?
This seems to me to be a begging the question. 

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Congrats to Ramshutu for getting the position, but also thanks for the document.
bsh1
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I will now lock this thread.