Mark Trapp asked: Where do you see moderators fitting in when determining the scope of the site? If you don't agree with what the community considers to be on (or off) topic, do you plan to override that?
Jack B Nimble answered: It isn't the role of the moderator to dictate policy so much as enforce the will of the community. If the community is moving in a direction the moderator disagrees with they can make their case, but ultimately the power rests with the people.
Pearsonartphoto answered: I do not plan to override what the community thinks is a bad question. I might override if there is somewhat of an indecision if a topic is a bad one, but if everyone else is against me, I'll let that be the case. Moderators can make suggestions, but any major scope changes should go to meta first, as a proposal.
HNL answered: No. Those decisions should belong to the community. Moderators should maintain the policies, not decide what they are.
Kevin answered: The moderators are here to enforce the rules the community has agreed on, not to set policy himself. If a mod has concerns with the community's views, he can bring it up on meta, but he ought to continue going with the community's will until he has convinced them otherwise.
Beofett answered: Whenever there is a disagreement between moderators and the community on scope, I want to ensure that the disagreement is covered in meta somewhere. If we don't address it in meta, it will simply become a problem again in the future. If I personally don't agree with it being on-topic, but the community shows a strong disagreement, whether through meta votes or voting to reopen, then I would accept that (I've changed my opinion on other sites through this very process).
Beofett continued: I do tend to be a bit firmer on questions that are generally agreed to be a poor fit for the platform, however. In those cases, there is generally quite a history of trial and error on other sites that supports those policies, and I'd want to see a much stronger community consensus before I'd consider alternative policies
Keen answered: I hope I never end up thinking the community has to be overridden. Usually, we as a community have done an excellent job of defining the site's scope. On contentious issues, we as mods should step in and suggest compromises that will make everyone satisfied to some degree. Otherwise, as a mod, I plan to minimally influence the decisions on the scope of the site, as I think it's our duty as a group to define this, not an individual moderator.
OghmaOsiris answered: I would always consider the community and what they want. If a majority vote were made and the scope of the site were in question, I would try to handle it as democratically as possible. Make sure everyone who is interested plea their case and see what can and cannot be done. If people want to start including a topic that is clearly not scifi or fantasy, I would ask the other moderators what they would want to do and we would come to consensus.
Gilles answered: A moderator's job is to apply the community's policies, not to make them. If the community can't come to a decision, the moderators should strive to find a compromise, and only as a last resort make a decision themselves.
Gilles continued: For example, if I'm elected and at some point the community decides that story identification is off-topic, I'll argue against that, but I won't overrule the decision. (I'd probably quit since I couldn't moderate while being so completely out of phase from the community.)