NOTE: These are the Q/A’s for: Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2

1. I have occasionally seen a user with a high network-wide rep (ie has a lot of positive interaction on other SE sites) cause a lot of friction on a site they have recently joined by insisting that "the site is doing it wrong." If this occurs here, and causes trouble with the easy going Mechanics community, how would you handle the situation?

This is a hard one to deal with. You love the people and community so much, you don’t want to get upset with them. Ultimately you have to guide people to behave appropriately. You’d expect people who have come over from another SE to understand what appropriate SE behavior is, but sometimes this isn’t always the case. To deal with it, you first have to be patient with them and explain how things on SE are done. If they don’t respond to gentle persuasion, you would then have to up your rhetoric. You cannot shout them down, but rather, try to talk them down from where they are at. If they continue to exhibit poor behavior, time outs are possible. Ultimately, while a last resort, banning could be in order … this is one place I’d not like to go, but I know it’s a nuclear option which can cure an ill, if needed. Not something I’d like to do, but can and would do if the need arose. Really, you must try to handle the issues at the lowest possible level, trying not to escalate anything in the process. It’s a tough position to be put into, but if something needs to be done, you have to do it.

2. What, if any, previous moderator (or similar) experience do you have from a different Stack Exchange site, a different website, and/or the real world (e.g. arbitration)?

I’ve not been a moderator on any SE site before. First time for everything? :o) I have been an administrator (both owner and administrator) on several forums. Never been an arbiter, nor have I ever wanted to be, lol!

3. 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?

You cannot argue with good content, though you don’t have to put up with argument, either. Mods have the ability to cull through comments and content. When things get off track, you take action and remove content which doesn’t belong. It isn’t being mean to those users, it’s just a matter of keeping a civil discourse on the site and keeping things on topic for the subject. There’s no real reason to start a fight or cause an issue on the site. You do have to be aware of what’s going on though, reviewing as much as possible and ensuring everyone is maintaining a “nice” behavior.

4. How would you handle a situation where another mod closed/deleted/etc a question that you feel shouldn't have been?

The easiest answer here is to talk to them about it. Obviously they had good reason to close a question. If they believe it should be closed, it probably deserved to be closed. If it happens continuously, I’d talk to them offline to see if we could come to a consensus about what should be closed and what shouldn’t. Ultimately, the people of the site should be making the choice as to whether a question should be closed, not the mods … that is unless it is completely obvious (like a shopping question). Leaving it to the site to moderate itself allows for the consensus and leaves the moderators to do the mundane tasks like drink root beer or something :o)

5. During Beta (and even today), we pride ourselves as being a very welcoming SE site to newcomers. One might argue that this has a lot to do with the manageable level of questions and new users coming in to the site on a per-day basis. Now that we've graduated, increased site traffic is a realistic possibility. What policies would you adopt to ensure that the site's association with the "Be Nice" moniker remains?

I like to think I’m one of the bigger advocates for the “Be Nice” moniker we’ve hung around our necks here at Mechanics.SE. I think the best way of promoting this idea is by continuing to do. We have to lead by example, which means keep doing what we’ve been doing. We have a great group of core users who also follow this way of being. I don’t think new policies will be needed, but paying attention to what’s going on with the site will be paramount. Keep up with new users and welcoming them aboard. I’m very thankful we have the great users we do. It must help make the life of the mod that much easier.

6. It is a distinct possibility that you would not be able to answer as many questions while moderating. Why do you believe that you could contribute more to the site's overall benefit as a moderator rather than a regular user?

Realistically, I don't think things would change too much for me. I do a lot of review tasks as it is. I keep up with questions and answer as I can, though I’m not a question whore. I don’t try to be the first to answer a question, but I try to ensure every question has an answer if I can provide it. I enjoy the questions and answers, but it’s not my life blood. I believe I already spread myself around enough it won’t be an issue. I will continue to vote as much as possible, as this is the true currency of Stack Exchange. A year or so ago, I answered a lot of questions on here, gaining a ton of reputation. The only reason I answered so much was there really wasn't a large base of users answering questions. I did this to ensure this SE would survive. It seems to have worked, because we are now graduated. I don't take credit for the graduation itself ... but I do take credit for keeping us alive while we were struggling to stay afloat. I don't answer as many questions as I used to. That's mainly because we have so many more people who have and continue to provide awesome answers. I just don't need to provide as much content as I used to (thank goodness!) and the site is flourishing without that content. What this means is, if I don't have to post as much or answer as many questions, it's not a big deal. I will do what I need to do as a moderator in this community to provide the support which is needed. It will not be an issue.

7. Moderators, like all humans, are susceptible to fluctuations in the space-time continuum. There will be easy-going periods and times when they are overwhelmed with things in life. More often than not, site moderation will take the backseat. Evidence: of the five moderators on this site throughout Beta, (to my knowledge) only two remain active. How much time do you realistically think you can devote to the site? What would you do if you believe it is difficult to continue with moderation responsibilities in the long run?

If it’s too difficult, obviously it would be time to quit. I’ve been on this site every day for the past 1033 days (as of this post) since I joined Mech.SE. If I can be on here every day for nearly three years right now, I don’t see it as an issue to continue to do what I’ve been doing. I ensure I’m available to answer questions, talk on The Pitstop, and taking care of things on Meta which may be needed. While I don’t see life getting in my way any time in the future, it can always happen. If it does, it wouldn’t be an issue for me to back away and give up being a moderator if it’s something I need to do. I respect this site and the people who come here to leave it hanging without proper moderation. I can recognize when things are too much. I’ve not seen it happen in the past nearly three years … I don’t see it happening in the future.

8. We have a high percentage of unanswerable questions that lie in wait for further information/clarification from the asker. This is not always due to laziness or neglect on the OP's part; it can take weeks for them to find the opportunity to collect further details about the problem. As a moderator, what would your policy be towards such questions, and how would you mitigate the issue of accumulation of unanswerable queries on the site?

This is the toughest question of the bunch and I’ve left it until last to answer (even though it’s #8 on the list). I know recently there has been a load of discussion about this very subject. It has been my approach to give a question asker the opportunity to clear up a question and ask it better, with more information as is suggested in the comments. I do, however, also believe we could easily get to the point where it would be unsustainable to allow bad questions to linger. There has been an idea floated which would delay questions going to the close review queue. Currently, the review queue gets the delay of 15 minutes after the first vote close vote is cast. Extending this out to 12 or even 24 hours may not be a bad thing. The idea is to prevent “jumping on” a close vote, yet allowing the question to hit the queue as needed to keep the site clean. This isn’t a bad thing, but I believe the idea needs to be fleshed out some before implementation. Greater community involvement in how we attempt to make this happen is needed before we can go forward with it. I’m not one to buck what the community wants. I’ll just not stand idly by if I perceive the “community” wants to do things which is not keeping with the idea of being nice to others as we’ve to this point seemed to keep at the forefront of things. Not that I’d get mean about it, but would definitely make my presence known in such a situation. There is such a fine line here between guiding a question asker to creating a better question and shutting the question down arbitrarily before an asker has a chance to actually make a question better. Guiding our user community towards asking better questions will be the key. We can only lead that horse to water … there is no way we can make them drink from the proverbial well. If they choose not to partake accordingly, the best we can do is close the question and hope they’ll make it better in the future so it can be nominated for re-opening.

9. What mechanical experience do you have, and where did you do the bulk of your learning on the subject?

My mechanical education comes from two different sources: doing and reading. I have a very high mechanical aptitude. I don’t think I’m some kind of savant, but I do grasp mechanical concepts very easily. I have a very broad knowledge of all things mechanical, but I wouldn’t call myself an expert of anything in particular. I’ve never found a job I couldn’t tackle myself, though I know better than to think I could do machining on my own. The other area I’d need help in is setting up a differential. I’ve read about it many times, but know it’s something I’d need help with a few times before I’d try to do it myself. It’s just one of those things which requires a certain touch to deal with and is something I’ve yet to learn how to do.

I’ve been working on vehicles now for over 30 years. I do have my preferences for what I like, but haven’t limited myself to what I’ll work on. I enjoy challenges and find myself helping others a lot more often than I help myself. I will do work for others who cannot afford to take it to the shop and pay the prices. I have helped many single mothers for free, just because I know their budgets just cannot bear the burden of such costs. I will charge those who can pay, though, just not as much as what a shop would charge. So, yes, doing is a big part of my mechanical education.

As far as professional experience, I guess the time I spent in the Army during my early years could be considered “professional”, as I was getting paid to do the job. The only thing the Army taught me when I went in was vehicle specific knowledge. They really didn’t teach me anything beyond what I already know about wrenching.

10. As a moderator, how will you keep your fellow moderators in check?

Like with anything else, we’d talk about it. If I see another moderator doing something which is not copasetic with the way this site is run, I’d talk to them off line. If they continued to do the same thing, I’d talk to the third moderator to ensure I’m not the one who is off in the circumstance. If all else fails, there are things which can be done to get a moderator removed. I don’t think that would ever be an issue. I cannot imagine this ever happening, but there are ways of dealing with it. To that end, if I were the one causing issues, I’d hope the other mods would call me out for it. I am not in fallible. I do, however, listen to others and can change my behavior as needed. I hope other mods would be able to follow the same course.