As the thread's title and description suggests, I am making this thread so the users of Vizzed can get to know me better, and to let everyone know that I'm shooting for the position of Local Moderator. In all honesty, I've never done this before and I'm not really sure what to put in this post. So, I guess I'll post a little about myself and answer a few questions that seem to be frequently asked in the other campaign threads.

I consider myself to be a fairly private person, so I generally go by m0ssb3rg or m0ss for short, Matt Vance Stinbook (an anagram of my name) or Matt for short, or really any nickname you want. Some people describe me as funny or eccentric, but that's for you all to decide.

Generally speaking, I think I can do the job because I have a lot of free time due to being unemployed, my parents tell me I can sometimes be over analytical, and I can assess a situation in an unbiased fashion. I believe that most conflict is cause by severe misunderstandings, and, while I don't meddle, I'm naturally inclined to mediate should any tensions arise. I spend a decent amount of time in the chatroom every day, usually very late at night when there's a lack of moderation, so I think I could help to fill that gap, using disciplinary action only when absolutely needed. I'm pretty sure that I can make the quota, as I've been getting better about being active about the board. The only things I think could complicate my position are that I'm not the best at spelling or punctuation and that our Internet connection may go down from time to time, though rarely for several days.

I realize that I'm most likely one of, if not the least known user on the ballot, so I'm not going to ask you directly for your vote. Instead, I ask that the general population of Vizzed vote for whoever you believe would be the best person for the job, be it me or anyone else, and any questions that anyone has, I would gladly answer.

Spelling or punctuation isn't strictly necessary, everyone can make mistakes. And well, you're not forced to be here everyday, so don't worry about your connection.

Probably you're not the least known candidate, but you're the one with the least total amount of posts. You will have to increase your posting by a big shot if you pretend to keep up with the quota. Do you think you can handle it?

Also, due to your low post count, how interested are you in the forums belonging to the sections you would moderate if elected? Would you concentrate a big chunk of your posts on those forums?

EX Palen : Well, most of my posts are scattered across several sections. I think I could pretty easily adapt my habits to my job though. It's not like I'd spam or anything to try and cover. And if it doesn't work out, I wouldn't hold it against anyone if I were let go. I'm probably cutting my own throat by saying it this way, but the short answer is "I can try."

m0ssb3rg935 : In an event in which you find a post that contains a layout that messes up a thread, or find one that is inappropriate, what would you personally do about it?

How strict are you about "spam" and would you be acting upon your interpretation of what is spam and what is not spam? Or would you be more by-the-book?

Local Moderators have the ability to ban users from the individual forums that they moderate. Would you consider having a polite discussion with the user, or would you disregard it and hastily ban him? Or perhaps just do nothing?

yoshirulez! : Well, I intend to make this a learning experience. As of this moment, I still haven't figured out how to edit the layout out of a post, so I would have to ask another mod. If it's particularly offensive, graphic or of adult nature, provided I know how to edit them, it would immediately be removed and reported to the globals. That said, I would not forgo contacting them.

Spam is something that is extremely varied in perception. Really, I think it's more about the spirit of the law, rather than the letter. I would have to view such instances on a case by case basis rather than prejudging based on precedents. This will of course require me to use my own judgement. I'm open to constructive criticism though, so if I'm being too lenient or too severe, I'd gladly take advice from any of my superiors or peers. If what you're asking is whether or not I'll jump all over somebody over a single, poorly worded post or thread, certainly not. You already know better than that. :

As far as actually throwing my title around, that's not what I intend to do at all. As I've already stated: my natural inclination is to mediate and resolve, and only apply force as a last resort.

You aren't the least known user on the ballot, I will start off. But this isn't a good thing, necessarily. It is because I have had interactions with you, that I am concerned about your application for moderator.

You can be rather... abrasive at times, and while past mods have been abrasive, they generally are the exception, and not the rule. Why do you think you should be an exception to the rule?

In addition, what do you plan to do about a perceived attitude issue?

What is your primary goal, or interest, with becoming a local?

SPEED LEGGY : I will admit that I've been coarse more than once in my time with the site, but our interactions haven't exactly been very recent, either. Being where I am with what I have supplies me with more than enough time for reflection, and I'm constantly working on bettering myself as a person. I'm actually curious myself as to whether or not the people around me think I've refined by any noticeable amount in the past year. I've noticed that employing a small amount of tact will get you a lot further with people than being annoying and crude, and I apologize if I've ever been belligerent towards you. As I've stated above: I believe most conflict is a result of severe misunderstanding, and I'm open to having a calm, rational discussion to clear any of that up.

As far as interests or goals are as a local go, I figure I might as well do something productive with my time instead of wasting it. I haven't any stamina, I'm not very strong, not particularly healthy, and in a small town with no opportunity without a way to get around other than my bicycle. This is about as close to volunteer work as I can get at this point in time.

You say (and I know from chat) that your connection can be unstable.
While its not necessarily a requirement to be on every single day, do you think that your connection could cause issues with your ability to connect to the site and preform your duties as a local moderator?

Vanelan : Only in the event that the outages become more frequent and longer lasting. Even then, I have two for sure, and maybe 3 connections in town I can access. At that point, only the weather is a factor. Short answer: Yes, but it's a big if.

What is the typical duration and frequency of an outage now?

Vanelan : Not all that frequent. Maybe something like every few weeks. Haven't had one in about a week and a half, if I recall correctly. As far as duration goes, the longest it's ever been out was about two weeks, and that only happened once. Usually a few days.

How long did the outage that occurred in the last week and a half last?

Vanelan : Sadly, my memory rarely serves me. I'm wanting to say it was one of the longer ones at 4 days. With us coming into warmer weather though, all I gotta do is drop $2.00 on a fountain drink in town with free refills and I can stay all day, if I want.

By the way, am I allowed to sandwich post under these circumstances?

So you are doing this out of convenience then?

I'm not doubting you are earnest about wanting to help the site, but is there anything deeper that compels you to help?

SPEED LEGGY : I'm someone who believes that anything and everything has a specific purpose, whether we know it or not, and that my purpose is to help people around me in any way I am able. The site's also been a major component of my life for several years now, and I feel that I owe a debt to David and the site. I see this as a means for me to give something back. I know it sounds cheesy, but those are my reasons.

User A sends a message to User B regarding a recent site sanction.
The message seems innocuous, but User B doesn't have a good relationship with User A and feels like he/she is being harassed/flame baited.
What should you do?

Vanelan : It really depends. If a comment or question was taken the wrong way and the commenter/questioner really meant nothing by it, I would try to clear it up by contributing my interpretation or by asking for better explanation of what was trying to be said. However, I have seen instances where either or both parties were at fault. Some of us can be very clever about trolling and pass it off as being inside the guidelines. Others can be entirely over sensitive, and can almost appear to be looking for something to take offense to. Be it social justice warriors or trolls, I see them as being equally at fault.

Round 1 of the election is over. Since you did not make it to the 2nd round I am closing this thread.