quellenform
Do you want to elect a real moderator?
...then please vote for one of the other candidates!
Do you want to vote for someone who enriches this platform with enthusiasm and very special skills and who loves nothing more than Geometry Nodes?
...then I am happy about your vote!
Why I might be a good moderator?
Because I am a quick learner
Because I try to stay friendly
Because I can follow rules
Because I can break rules the right way
Because I follow the (most) posts here very closely and with great enthusiasm
...and of course, because I am the first and only user here who has achieved the Gold Badge in geometry-nodes.
Why I am NOT a good moderator?
Because I am mainly specialized in geometry-nodes
Because I follow rules
Because I break (some) rules
Important: Because I am only available in phases, as my work is project-based!
I am certainly one of the youngest members of this wonderful platform, having joined only in March 2022. But the number and quality of my many answers and helps, as well as my commitment and enthusiasm, make up for it.
- 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 would seek conversation with this user and try to steer him or her in a different direction.
However, if the situation does not improve, there is a clear limit: A variety of valuable answers does not outweigh inappropriate or harmful behavior in the long run.
- How would you handle a situation where another mod closed/deleted/etc. a question that you feel shouldn’t have been?
He will certainly have had his reasons for doing so. If I still disagree, I'm sure it can be discussed. However, if it is clear to me that it is a gross misjudgment, I would reopen the question again, and then you can ask the other mod the same question.
- How have you first come in contact with Blender and how long ago? Are you currently still actively using it professionally or for hobbies?
My first contact with Blender was somewhere in 2001. After that I used other 3D software because it was too tedious for me at that time. In general I started with 3D Studio R4. A lot has changed since then.
Since the beginning of this year, I've been learning Blender. Things are going well for me. In the meantime, I use Blender mainly because version 3.2 finally makes it possible to work in a usable procedural way. It allows me to do various tasks based on FOSS that I used to do laboriously with Houdini and 3ds Max.
So I use Blender, along with a variety of other multimedia tools, both professionally and personally.
- Chat is not a central part of this community, and engaging in conversations there is not required nor mandatory. It is however a good way to interact with more regular visitors and socialize a bit beyond the more cold and distant everyday Q&A, since Stack Exchange is often accused of being cold and impersonal. Do you think reviving our chat rooms is a valid goal, or is it just a distraction from our main focus? Do you think it will bring users closer together a encourage users to stick around more? Do you have any ideas or suggestions to engage user in chat or encourage posting more often?
Basically, I think that a certain amount of contact opportunities is essential to keep a platform like Stack Exchange interesting for returning users in the long run and to motivate them to interact here on a regular basis.
If the platform continues to rely only on the established Q&A concept, it will always remain largely impersonal. After all, we are all human beings, and we need communication that goes beyond the comment function.
However, I don't think that "reviving" the old chat rooms is very helpful! They are technologically outdated, confusing, and uncomfortable for most users to use.
The solution would be a modern (and also optimized for smartphones!) communication option that is more integrated into the platform and also allows direct messaging.
Another idea that wouldn't work well with the classic Stack Exchange format, but would fit well with Blender, as it's all about creativity in many cases:
Events, contests, exams, and special badges for answers to curated questions! This brings public attention, invites participation and is a reason to come here again and again, even if there are no open questions of your own.
...Only here some may disagree and I can't answer how it could be implemented technically.
- A user is unhappy about a moderation decision. They post a complaint as a question in Blender's Stack Exchange accusing you personally of treating them unfairly. How do you react?
I would respond with an explanation of what my decision was based on and close/delete the question as "not suitable for this platform". However, if the user continued to break the rules vehemently, I would seek advice from more experienced moderators (I do not yet know the options available to a moderator here).
- What experience do you have, that would help you be a good moderator?
I was/am active for 20 years as an admin of various private and professional web projects and due to this experience the following principles apply to me:
I am human, you are human
Stay friendly and respect your counterpart
Think carefully about what you say/write in public
Strive to follow rules, but also break them if they contradict point 1 or point 2
- In your opinion, what do moderators do?
In short: steering content in the right direction. However, I am not an entertainer or a clown.
- 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?
My feelings do not play a role here and it would not be helpful or meaningful to try to put them into words here.
Ultimately, it is just a diamond shape that will not trigger any feelings in me, but at most in the user when his question/answer has been edited.
- In what way do you feel that being a moderator will make you more effective as opposed to simply reaching 10k or 20k rep?
It doesn't make any difference to me anymore. It was a fun game for a while, but by now I've already reached my personal goal of 20k rep.
If, contrary to expectations, I were to be elected as moderator, I would simply try to continue as I have done in the past.
Thanks for reading,
Stephan