20

Update - Based on the vote-counts (as of 18/09/15) we have added users Slytherincess and Praxis to the list of room owners for the Mos Eisley chatroom.

If you feel that there is a further need for additional moderators, feel free to raise the issue in a separate Meta.

A big hand and a round of congratulations to our new mini-mods :-P

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It was recently suggested by someone of rather large import to the Stack Exchange community that perhaps our beloved chat room needed to have some owners who were not moderators.

Shog9: I think this room needs a couple of owners who aren't mods; the elected mods tend to have their hands full on the main site, while this room could use a few people with kick-mute privileges sorta hanging around.

http://chat.stackexchange.com/transcript/message/24144371#24144371

As such, I would like to propose the question: should we have the existing room owners (currently, they are exactly the same as the site moderators) add one or two other users as owners of the room?

The primary tool that room owners will have at their disposal is the ability to "kick-mute" a user in the room. This silences the user and prevents them from speaking in Mos Eisley for a short cool-down period (which scales with subsequent mutes). Note that room owners have no influence over the disposition of flags or chat-wide bans. The main benefit of having extra room owners is that they can manage issues at the room level, before it devolves into a flood off flags that require moderator intervention.

NOTE: This is an informal poll for the community to voice their opinion on people they think would be good in this position. Ultimately it will be up to the existing room owners (i.e. the mods) to appoint, or not appoint, people they trust to the position.


Here are some qualities which the new room owner should have:

  • Ability to persuade, and deter conversations
  • Not anonymous; so if they tell you to stop what you're doing, you know it's because they are a room owner, and are likely to "kick-mute" you.
  • As @shog9 mentions:

    the key elements of successful chat moderation are:
    1) anticipation of a problem
    2) intervention before it becomes a problem
    3) guidance to prevent future problems
    ...of which only #2 really requires special tooling. Hence, kick-mute.

The candidates should ideally be widely respected, trusted, not contentious or prone to arguments, and friendly, with good judgment and a diplomatic personality.

And they should be willing to take on the job.

16
  • What qualities should these room owners have? They should be often in chat, obviously. Should they be quiet or talkative? Chatty or not? Opinionated or not? Etc.
    – Rand al'Thor Mod
    Sep 17, 2015 at 0:03
  • Impartiality is key. As is being widely respected and trusted. Hence, I suggest Slytherincess, N_Soong, Praxis, and Major Stackings.
    – Wad Cheber
    Sep 17, 2015 at 0:07
  • 2
    @WadCheber I support Slytherincess, definitely. But N_Soong is widely known to be non-impartial at least when it comes to Richard, and Major Stackings is a great maker of smartass chat posts himself... (No offence meant!)
    – Rand al'Thor Mod
    Sep 17, 2015 at 0:13
  • 1
    There is at least one frequenter of Mos Eisley who's never had any serious rows with anyone there and is good enough at getting along with everyone that he even managed to stay on good terms with both Richard and SS-Pi...
    – Rand al'Thor Mod
    Sep 17, 2015 at 0:17
  • @randal'thor Richard is a mod. He won't be flagged anyway. No one can flag him, because he can unflag himself.
    – Wad Cheber
    Sep 17, 2015 at 0:22
  • @MikeEdenfield I added some additional details from the transcript, feel free to rollback / add / edit :)
    – Möoz
    Sep 17, 2015 at 0:44
  • 2
    randal'thor is not wrong. @randal'thor no offense taken. Sep 17, 2015 at 0:44
  • 1
    @Mooz lets limit this to mos eisley, please. we only have one other standing room, and it's tiny, and the ownership issue is entirely up to the person who created it. Mos Eisley is special in that it's our site's main chat.
    – KutuluMike
    Sep 17, 2015 at 0:49
  • 3
    Can we agree that each post has an inherent +1, just because we can't up-vote our own nominations?
    – Möoz
    Sep 17, 2015 at 0:56
  • @randal'thor - Being a smartass is irrelevant, he's never said anything offensive, in my experience. Being silly is fine, being argumentative or inappropriate (like some Wads who shall remain nameless) is not.
    – Wad Cheber
    Sep 17, 2015 at 1:01
  • @Mooz I posted my first 4 answers without any implied +1; unfortunately it means I can't vote for the ones I want but that shouldn't be a problem unless it's close.
    – KutuluMike
    Sep 17, 2015 at 1:06
  • +1 good suggestion, and we should be able to purchase Star trek ranks, that was a good idea as well.
    – JMFB
    Sep 17, 2015 at 4:05
  • @randal'thor in any matters I would always try to act impartially, irrespective of who was involved (including anyone who goes by the name of 'Data', 'Lore', 'B4' and 'Richard') Sep 17, 2015 at 8:04
  • 5
    I think it's important that any nominee indicates if they actually want to, preferably by commenting on their nomination.
    – SQB
    Sep 17, 2015 at 8:26
  • @MikeEdenfield: Who made the graphics?! Sep 22, 2015 at 19:59

10 Answers 10

24

Yes, we should add @Slytherincess as a room owner because she's awesome. Also:

  1. She's active (and is able to jump in very quickly if pinged).
  2. She's observant and assertive (she's not likely to misunderstand what the conversation is - unless it's about Maths).
  3. She's trusted.

--Mooz

13
  • 4
    Definitely one of the nicest and fairest people I've come across on SE. She has my +1 :-)
    – Rand al'Thor Mod
    Sep 17, 2015 at 0:23
  • 1
    Yes. As someone who initially nominated her, I'd like to explain the reasons: 1. She's active (and is able to jump in very quickly if pinged). 2. She's observant and assertive (she's no likely to misundertand what the conversation is - unless it's about Maths). 3. She's trusted. 4. Probably more, things, but that's enough tooting her horn :p
    – Möoz
    Sep 17, 2015 at 0:32
  • 5
    She's sensitive but not touchy, and always tactful at handling people. I've never come across anyone who has a problem with her.
    – Rand al'Thor Mod
    Sep 17, 2015 at 0:36
  • She's the best.
    – Wad Cheber
    Sep 17, 2015 at 0:37
  • +1 because she likes new wave and especially pop synth, when I'm with you baby I go outta my head and I just can't get enough, I just can't get enough. And Rick Astley rules!
    – JMFB
    Sep 17, 2015 at 4:05
  • 2
    She's all that.
    – Praxis
    Sep 17, 2015 at 4:15
  • ... Has anyone actually seen if @Slytherincess actually wants this responsibility? Sep 17, 2015 at 9:07
  • @DrRDizzle I thought I read that she was happy to run for it, but I can't find that now... Sep 17, 2015 at 9:10
  • @DrRDizzle yes, as far as I am aware all of the nominees I put up initially agreed. I can't vouch for the ones nominated by other people, but if they don't want the responsibility we'll just skip them.
    – KutuluMike
    Sep 17, 2015 at 10:27
  • 2
    @Praxis ... and a bag of chips?
    – SQB
    Sep 17, 2015 at 17:36
  • 2
    Wow, thanks to everyone who voted for me -- I am happy and willing to take care of the chat room! If anything ever arises, feel free to ping me immediately. If I'm home, I'll respoond. :) Sep 18, 2015 at 15:12
  • 1
    @sltheryncess Ha ha ha... Sucka! ;) Sep 18, 2015 at 22:52
  • @MajorStackings -- Oh, I'm definitely keeping my LEGO now, mofo! Hmm, that reminds me that I need to explain to you why I haven't sent it yet. <opens Gmail> Oct 4, 2015 at 2:00
14

I'd like to nominate @Praxis. Why? Because

  • Praxis is friendly
  • Praxis is fair
  • Praxis is reasonable
  • Praxis can be firm when Praxis wants to
  • Praxis is just a generally good guy.

Vote 1 for Praxis!

3
  • 2
    My suggestion:)
    – Wad Cheber
    Sep 17, 2015 at 0:37
  • 1
    +1 My fav! helped cheer me up many times followed closely by @n_soong
    – JMFB
    Sep 17, 2015 at 4:03
  • @praxis Ha ha ha....Sucka! ;) Sep 18, 2015 at 22:51
10

Yes, we should add @MajorStackings as a room owner because

WadCheber: @MajorStackings You're friendly, pleasant, fair, and people trust you.

3
  • @MajorStackings is also frequently in chat, so if he were elected, then he'd actually be present enough to make an effective policeman Sep 17, 2015 at 0:21
  • 1
    +1 because he showed me that legos are cool
    – JMFB
    Sep 17, 2015 at 4:04
  • You guys did a far far better thing by voting these people ahead of me. Sep 18, 2015 at 22:54
8

I'd like to nominate Jack B Nimble, if he's willing.

He's impartial (we're all dead to him), he's often around, he already takes care of the blog so he has shown he's responsible, and he has run for mod so he likely wants the responsibility.

7

Yes, we should add @MikeEdenfield as a room owner. Mike has been on this site for quite some time, is very familiar with the rules and protocols and knows what he's talking about.

In all my experiences with @MikeEdenfield, he's been completely fair and reasonable, but also knows when enough is enough and would be excellent to have the power of being able to halt things before they go awry.

5
  • He's also been known to flag people 'just to see what would happen' in the last few days. Just sayin'... :-)
    – Rand al'Thor Mod
    Sep 17, 2015 at 0:21
  • 3
    it was FOR SCIENCE
    – KutuluMike
    Sep 17, 2015 at 0:23
  • 1
    Too much like me. Sorry, Mike.
    – Wad Cheber
    Sep 17, 2015 at 0:29
  • +1 Good Contributor
    – JMFB
    Sep 17, 2015 at 4:03
  • @MikeEdenfield Take the science to the H bar; we have magic here!
    – Rand al'Thor Mod
    Sep 17, 2015 at 9:10
6

Yes, we should add @N_Soong as a room owner because he knows when to tell @WadCheber to shut up is nice and fair.

5
  • My suggestion :)
    – Wad Cheber
    Sep 17, 2015 at 0:37
  • I would also like to add another factor which is the fact that I'm in a different time zone from most, so I can be checking in on chat when others are asleep and vice-versa. Just a little food for thought there... Sep 17, 2015 at 3:42
  • 1
    +1 Please address him correctly as Admiral
    – JMFB
    Sep 17, 2015 at 4:02
  • I also study public health and psychology, so mental-health related preventative strategies are my specialty, meaning I'd be good for respecting people's feelings in dealings.. Sep 17, 2015 at 4:06
  • In accordance with @SQB's comment above I accept this nomination and am willing to accept this role if the community does decide to vote for me to fill one of these positions Sep 17, 2015 at 8:35
5

No. We do not need any more room owners. The issues Mos Eisley has are not things that a room owner can solve by merely kick-muting the offending users.

If this option comes in second, assume it means we don't need two new owners :)

4
  • This is true (the problems can't be solved by kicking), but room owners might help.
    – Wad Cheber
    Sep 17, 2015 at 0:41
  • @WadCheber I agree, it's the pre-emptive actions which will help.
    – Möoz
    Sep 17, 2015 at 0:45
  • +1 because I'm anti establishment
    – JMFB
    Sep 17, 2015 at 4:04
  • Out of curiosity, what are "the issues Mos Eisley has"? What "offending users" are you talking about? I assume this means something in general, and not something specific.
    – Andres F.
    Sep 19, 2015 at 22:51
4

@phantom42.

He's someone who is:

  • trusted
  • impartial
  • witty enough not to be too serious and grumpy
  • assertive enough to be able to tell people to "cool it"
  • active on both the site as well as Mos-Eisley
3
  • +1 Good Choice!
    – JMFB
    Sep 17, 2015 at 4:02
  • Phantom42 has my +1
    – Valorum
    Sep 17, 2015 at 7:57
  • He also owns the second SFF chatroom, Agents of Nothing.
    – Rand al'Thor Mod
    Sep 17, 2015 at 9:12
2

I'm also nominating @rand al'thor because he doesn't want to nominate himself. He's a great guy and would also be wise and frequents chat enough to be useful in this capacity!

2
  • Cheers! :-) I do hang out in Mos Eisley a lot (nearly every day), and have never had any rows with anyone there.
    – Rand al'Thor Mod
    Sep 17, 2015 at 0:38
  • He totally did nominate himself in the comments. :)
    – Wad Cheber
    Sep 17, 2015 at 1:27
-3

I'd like to nominate Dr R Dizzle.

Although a new user, Dr R Dizzle has earned a lot of reputation recently and in all my dealings with him, he has been most respectful of everyone in the chatroom. He also frequents Mos Eisley regularly and in my opinion he would use his powers only when necessary.

1
  • 1
    A good choice. As he's pointed out, he's also on at times which complement the other moderators
    – Valorum
    Sep 17, 2015 at 8:29

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