POST HERE IF YOU WANT TO BE CONSIDERED AS A MOD

[Potus]

I'd like to join the moderation team. I've been a member of the community about a year and a half now, and since joining I've gained a deeper understanding of how the Atlas works.

The moderation team needs a breath of fresh air to ward off any perceptions of insularity. I like to think I can provide that change while also looking to uphold a fair, consistent policy of moderation guided by Dave's directives and the terms of service.

Moderators should also be meaningful contributors. The academic value of this website is its defining and strongest asset. Moderators should support increasing the academic value of the forum in order to continuing to set us apart.

Additionally, if chosen as moderator, I'd like to follow the lead of some past moderators in having a fairly transparent moderation policy. Giving explanations behind actions will go a long way to rehabilitating public opinion surrounding moderators. I believe that the controversial bans and decisions made the moderation team have been kosher and good for the site, but I think the public affairs aspect could have been handled much better.

As a moderator, I would draw upon two examples of big decisions made by the team in my handling of moderation issues. The banning of the Update was a huge and dramatic change to our forum community and, more directly, to the Forum Community board itself. BK handled the new policy very openly and explained the decision, resulting in a stunningly low amount anger and dissent within the community. Sure, there was opposition, but it was nothing compared to the epic levels of butthurt brought on by the long, drawn out process of banning Opebo, which still draws criticism today.

TL;DR: As a moderator, I'd like to be a breath of fresh air that really places an emphasis on increasing the academic value of the forum while also looking to handle moderation policy more out in the open with explanations and reasoning, like the Mods did with the Update ban, instead of insular, controversial, sporadic decision making.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, I don't have any major rivalries or "enemies" or whatever to lead to a lot of personal drama. I've done a pretty effective job at separating my political views and personal relationships.