Thomas Owens
I'm throwing my hat into the ring for a Software Quality Assurance & Testing moderator role to ensure that this site has an active, reliable moderator team.
I've been using the Stack Exchange network since the early days of Stack Overflow (August 2008), and I've served as an elected moderator on Software Engineering (February 2012) and Project Management (August 2021). I'm very familiar with the tools and processes of moderating a Stack Exchange Network site.
I'm also familiar with the subject matter of the SQA & Testing site, having a background in software engineering. I have the technical knowledge to read and understand the subject matter of this site and engage with users not only about the intricacies of the platform, but also the technical merits of questions and answers.
Questionnaire
- 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?
Being respectful and nice to each other as human beings is central. Participating in arguments, especially those that raise flags from other readers, does not demonstrate respect and kindness. As a moderator, I could send warning messages and, if necessary, suspend the user. Although we may lose one contributor, I've found that disrespectful people drive away prospective contributors. A safe, respectful environment is necessary for sustaining and growing a community.
- How would you handle a situation where another mod closed/deleted/etc. a question that you feel shouldn’t have been?
I would not take a unilateral action to undo the moderator's action. I would first try to reach out to the moderator in a private, mod-only chat, to get their take and understand their rationale and if I'm missing something. If the rest of the site moderator team isn't around, all network moderators also have access to a chatroom of moderators and community managers, where I could get a second opinion. Only if there's strong evidence that it was wrong - and humans get it wrong sometimes - would I undo the action by reopening or undeleting the post.
- In your opinion, what do moderators do?
Moderators are exception handlers and garbage collectors. We have access to tools that allow us to take rapid, binding action in cases where the community is unable to act fast to resolve the issue. We can also address people who are disruptive to the community by informing them of community standards and enforcing community norms.
- 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?
I have diamonds on two other sites in the network. I have no concern with diamonds being attached to any question, answer, or comment that I've made anywhere on the network.
- In what way do you feel that being a moderator will make you more effective as opposed to simply reaching enough reputation to access moderator tools or become a trusted user?
A big concern is speed. Moderator actions are fast and binding. A problem that I've seen first hand is long wait times to handle flags around inappropriate content. As I do with the other sites I moderator, I intend to check in on a regular basis and clear our flags and help the review queues move along. Having access to moderator tools over the trusted user tools ensures that I can act swiftly when necessary to help curate and maintain the content of this library of questions and answers.
- This site has quite a problem with a number of users that are posting AI generated content. What is your stance on AI generated content and are you prepared to deal with such posts?
There is a baseline Stack Exchange policy: all AI-generated content needs to be attributed. Moderators have access to heuristics that can be used to assess if content is likely to be generated and have the authority to remove content that exceeds a threshold of confidence. I will swiftly remove generated content as soon as possible if it is not attributed. I will warn and then suspend users who continue to post generated content without attribution.
Beyond that, communities can choose to adopt stricter policies, such as a total prohibition on all generated content, even if it has been attributed. I'm personally in favor of such policies - we have one on Software Engineering. However, Project Management has chosen not to adopt such a strict policy. SQA & Testing has chosen to not adopt a blanket prohibition. As such, my moderation stance will be in line with the community: require attribution and allow properly attributed generated content.
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candidate score 4/40
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reputation 1k
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moderation badges: 0/8
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editing badges: 0/6
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participation badges: 3/6