DU needs new moderators (and a few old moderators, too!)

[Skinner]

The current two-month term for moderators ends this week, and we're looking for volunteers to help us out for the next two months.

This two-month term will include the holiday season and the build up to the Democratic primaries, so we think we need to have a particularly dedicated and experienced group this time. The administrators are not going to be available all the time, so we need to have a number of experienced moderators to help hold down the fort, especially on the GD forum. If you've served before, feel free to sign up again.

We are also looking for some people who have never served as moderators before. We want to make sure we have some new, enthusiastic people during this term. So if you've never served before, please sign up.

Please check your schedule for the next two months. We need to be sure that we have coverage during the holidays. So if you expect to be unavailable for an extended period of time during the holiday season, please do not sign up this term.

- Your political ideology is not important... We need centrists and leftists and everyone in between to serve as moderators.
- We prefer people who have been members for a few months, and have made at least a couple hundred posts. You must be at least 18 years old.
- You must be able to log on to DU regularly, and should not take any long vacations between now and mid-January.
- We prefer people with a generally positive outlook on life, who can be fair and evenhanded, and who don't get easily frustrated. If you sign up to moderate, we expect you to stay as a moderator for the full two-month term. You must understand that it is perfectly normal for the admins to occasionally overturn your decisions, or to make specific requests regarding the manner which you participate on DU.
- We prefer that moderators avoid highly controversial topics, or at least moderate their behavior significantly when participating in such discussions. If you are an outspoken partisan for any particular Democratic presidential candidate, of if you have a history of rhetorically hot postings on controversial issues, we may not choose you to serve.
- If you know that you aren't very good at controlling your behavior or your emotions, or if you know that you can't be fair to a particular group of people, please do not sign up to be a moderator. There is no obligation to serve as a mod, and we won't hold it against you if you choose not to.

Here's how to volunteer:

Send an email to [e-mail] with the word "moderator" in the subject line. Include the following information:

- Your real name
- Your forum username
- Your address
- Your telephone number
- How much time you spend on Democratic Underground
- Which forums you'd like to moderate (if you have a preference)
- A brief statement which generally outlines your political views
- Are you taking any extended vacations during the Holiday season?
- Have you read, and do you agree to follow, the Message Board Rules and the Moderator Guidelines?

If you have applied to be a moderator before, but were not chosen, I strongly encourage you to apply again. We also need moderators who *have* served before, so everyone interested should apply.

We hope to select a new group of moderators on Wednesday afternoon, November 19. There will be a free conference call for the new moderators on Thursday night, November 20.

If you have any questions, please feel free to post them in this thread.

Skinner
DU Admin

[liberalhistorian]

1. Well, since I didn't get picked the last time

I applied, I'm not going to put myself through the torture of such a humiliating rejection ever again, sniffle, sniffle, pout, sniffle. I suppose I could force myself to apply again!

[Patriot_Spear]

5. Tell me about it...

...always a bridesmaid, never a bride. *Sigh*

[Khephra]

2. No way I can do it until after the Primary season is over

I don't think I could survive that long without using my "ignore" function.

;-)

[youngred]

3. damn winter break

I'd love to, but I have winter break from school for 2 weeks in there and my internet time will be severly curtailed. Next term I hope!

[Maeve]

4. Wish I could! It was a great experience

And one I highly recommend to other DUers! Alas, the holidays hit like a ton of bricks around here...and y'all even do conference calls now! Wow...

Go for it, people! It's one of those "toughest jobs you'll ever love"

[BlackVelvet]

6. Well, I haven't been here long enough

or posted a lot here. I'm a moderator on another board and this is my get-a-way.

[Mr. Brown of MD]

9. They went high-tech, eh?

I remember back when all we got was a little e-mail and a forum post and then we were cut loose on the wide world of disruptors.

A moderator conference call sounds like it would probably be awesome, though. Almost makes me want to apply on that basis alone. :)

Except I think I'm going to be taking a vacation of some kind over my winter break, so I'll wait until next time.

-CollegeDude
Or perhaps the time after

[Missy Vixen]

7. I highly recommend it

I was lucky enough to be a mod last time.

It is a tough job, but the interaction between mods is tremendous. IMHO, of course, but I think that the mods are some of the friendliest people on DU.

I hope to do it again during the next selection period; it was a great experience.

Julie

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Sapphocrat]

11. Skinner, I've been tempted many times...

...but I think my history would disqualify me off the bat. (Meaning, I haven't had a single post deleted yet -- knock wood! -- but it's no secret that I'm extremely thin-skinned when it comes to gay issues.)

And to be perfectly honest, I think that -- although I could indeed perform rationally and objectively as you would wish (hey, I've been in your position, many times) -- I'd probably have a stroke within two weeks. LOL

IOW, I don't think you'd want me anyway.

However, if you ever need any sort of back-up moderators to babysit the board during the wee hours -- my most alert time, and coincidentally the time When Freepers Attack (which would be a great title for a reality TV show) -- and you need somebody to do nothing more than keep an eye out for situations gone very, very bad (I'm thinking of the freeper who literally filled LBN with filth a couple-three weeks ago), say the word.

We may not see eye to eye on every issue, but, buddy, you've won my hard-earned respect, and it pains the hell out of me to see freepers take a you-know-what all over DU.

Just give the "back-up moderator" idea some serious consideration before you dismiss it, eh?