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In connection with the moderator elections, we are holding a Q&A thread for the candidates. Questions collected from an earlier thread have been compiled into this one, which shall now serve as the space for the candidates to provide their answers.

Due to the submission count, we have selected all provided questions as well as our back up questions for a total of 7 questions.

As a candidate, your job is simple - post an answer to this question, citing each of the questions and then post your answer to each question given in that same answer. For your convenience, I will include all of the questions in quote format with a break in between each, suitable for you to insert your answers. Just copy the whole thing after the first set of three dashes.Please consider putting your name at the top of your post so that readers will know who you are before they finish reading everything you have written, and also including a link to your answer on your nomination post.

Once all the answers have been compiled, this will serve as a transcript for voters to view the thoughts of their candidates, and will be appropriately linked in the Election page.

Good luck to all of the candidates!

Oh, and when you've completed your answer, please provide a link to it after this blurb here, before that set of three dashes. Please leave the list of links in the order of submission.

To save scrolling here are links to the submissions from each candidate (in order of submission):

  1. 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?

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

  3. In your opinion, what do moderators do?

  4. A diamond will be attached to everything you say and have said in the past, including questions, answers and comments. Everything you will do will be seen under a different light. How do you feel about that?

  5. In what way do you feel that being a moderator will make you more effective as opposed to simply reaching 10k or 20k rep?

  6. De quelle région de la francophonie êtes-vous natif et/ou avez-vous appris la langue de Molière? (From which region of the Francophonie are you a native and/or have learned the language of Molière?)

  7. If elected, what will you do to help prevent the type of issues that led to the resignation of two FSE mods? (For reference: Gilles' Démission de mon poste de modérateur and Stéphane Gimenez' Une autre démission.)

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4 Answers 4

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English (le français suit)

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?

Typically, I handle them not much differently from any other user who generates a lot of arguments. If their behaviour crosses the line of friendliness or if they accumulate flags, I'll drop a note in a private chat room to other mods to see if they are noticing the same behaviour. If they are in agreement, I'd start with a mod message. If the behaviour continues, again with confirmation from at least one more moderator, I'd suspend.

For myself, since moderator messages are sent in the name of the moderator team (as well as suspensions), it is important as much as possible to have agreement with at least one other member. Nonetheless, there are obviously exception circumstances where someone has so clearly crossed the line with no intention of stoping that it's not necessary to wait for other mod confirmation.

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

Communication. I want to talk with that moderator, not to push my view across, but to understand their perspective. There may come a point where, once I feel I thoroughly understand their point of view, I'll suggest that they were wrong for XYZ reasons, but I've never seen a situation where I disagreed strongly enough with another moderator's judgement that I was willing to over-ride their judgement.

In your opinion, what do moderators do?

Honestly, mostly basically the same thing as other users, with the exception of the moderator flag queues. I tend to take a light style of moderation, allowing the community to weigh in on most borderline posts. That said, we do have tools available (such as post notices) which most people can't use.

I'd say the majority of my work on the site I currently moderate is commenting and followup. Sure, there are NAA flags to deal with and spam flags, but typically those are quick and easy. The longer things to deal with are unfriendly users and posts which are not quite so clearly off-topic / low quality / whatever. These take a lot more time to sort through, doing basically what any person with access to the queues would do, simply with the added burden of knowing that if you make a mistake, 95% of the time it will go unchecked.

A diamond will be attached to everything you say and have said in the past, including questions, answers and comments. Everything you will do will be seen under a different light. How do you feel about that?

Honestly I'm not to fond of the diamond. Users, especially new users, tend to think that you are coming to site material with a greater authority, which is obviously not the case. Nonetheless, I do appreciate having the diamond when dealing with "problem" users. It lends a bit more weight to your words when you're asking people to be nice.

In what way do you feel that being a moderator will make you more effective as opposed to simply reaching 10k or 20k rep?

I'm standing for moderator in the name of bringing SE experience not particularly french.SE experience... Although I haven't participated much on the site and it would be likely years before I got anywhere close to 20k, I'd be glad to help out the site as a moderator.

De quel région de la francophonie ete vous natif et/ou avez appris la langue de Molière? (From which region of the Francophonie are you a native and/or have learned the language of Molière?)

I am a Quebecer, and a semi-native French speaker. I learned French at an extremely young age (toddler), though not at home. We usually spoke English at home, so my French is a tad less good than my English. I am certainly fluent however.

If elected, what will you do to help prevent the type of issues that led to the resignation of two FSE mods? (For reference: Gilles' Démission de mon poste de modérateur and Stéphane Gimenez' Une autre démission.)

Honestly, as a moderator who temporarily stepped down during that whole mess, I think there was very little that any individual moderator could do to prevent such circumstances. That very little that we can do is to always hold up the highest standard possible of kindness to those around us.

Français

Comment traiteriez-vous avec un utilisateur qui a produit un flux régulier de bonnes réponses, mais qui a tendance à générer un grand nombre d'arguments / flags dans les commentaires?

Typiquement, je ne les traite pas très différemment de tout autre utilisateur qui génère beaucoup d'arguments. Si leur comportement dépasse la ligne de la gentillesse ou s'ils accumulent des flags, je laisserais une note dans un chat privé à d'autres modérateurs pour voir s'ils remarquent le même comportement. S'ils sont d’accord, je commencerais par un message de modérateur. Si le comportement se poursuit, encore une fois avec la confirmation d'au moins un autre modérateur, je le suspenderais.

Pour ma part, étant donné que les messages du modérateur sont envoyés au nom de l'équipe du modérateur (ainsi que les suspensions), il est important autant que possible d'avoir un accord avec au moins un autre membre de l'équipe. Cependent, il y a évidement des circonstances exceptionnelles où quelqu'un a si clairement dépassé la ligne en refusant d'arrêter qu'il n'est pas nécessaire d'attendre une confirmation.

Comment géreriez-vous une situation où un autre mod a fermé/supprimé/etc une question qui, selon vous, n’aurait pas dû l’être?

Communication. Je veux parler avec ce modérateur, non pas pour faire valoir mon point de vue, mais pour comprendre son point de vue. Une fois que j'aurai l’impression de bien comprendre leur point de vue, je pourrait potenitellement suggerer qu'ils se sont trompés pour des raisons XYZ, mais je n'ai jamais vu une situation où je n'étais pas assez en désaccord avec le jugement d'un autre modérateur que j'étais prêt à renverser leur jugement.

À votre avis, que font les modérateurs?

Honnêtement, essentiellement la même chose que les autres utilisateurs, à l'exception des files d'attente des flags du modérateur. J'ai tendance à prendre un style de modération léger, permettant à la communauté de peser sur la plupart des postes frontières. Cela dit, nous avons des outils disponibles (comme les "post notices") que la plupart des gens ne peuvent pas utiliser.

Je dirais que la majorité de mon travail sur le site que je modère actuellement est de commenter et de suivi. Bien sûr, il y a des drapeaux NAA à traiter et des drapeaux de spam, mais typiquement ceux sont rapides et faciles. Les choses les plus longues à traiter sont les utilisateurs hostiles et les messages qui ne sont pas si clairement hors sujet / de faible qualité / peu importe. Il faut beaucoup plus de temps pour faire le tri, faire essentiellement ce que toute personne ayant accès aux files d'attentes ferait, simplement avec le fardeau supplémentaire de savoir que si vous faites une erreur, 95 p. 100 du temps, on ne le voyera pas.

Un diamant sera attaché à tout ce que vous dites et avez dit dans le passé, y compris les questions, les réponses et les commentaires. Tout ce que vous ferez sera vu sous un jour différent. Qu'en pensez-vous?

Honnêtement, je n'aime pas le diamant. Les utilisateurs, en particulier les nouveaux utilisateurs, ont tendance à penser que vous venez sur le matériel du site avec une plus grande autorité, ce qui n'est évidemment pas le cas. Néanmoins, j'apprécie avoir le diamant quand il s'agit de utilisateurs difficile. Cela donne un peu plus de poids à vos paroles quand vous demandez aux gens d'être gentils.

De quelle façon pensez-vous qu’être modérateur vous rendra plus efficace au lieu de simplement atteindre 10k ou 20k rep?

Je me présent pour deveniure modérateur au nom d'avoir de l'expérience sur Stack Exchange et non particulièrement de l'expérience sur french.SE... Bien que je n'ai pas beaucoup participé sur le site et il serait probablement des années avant que je me rapproche de 20k, je serais heureux d'aider le site en tant que modérateur.

De quelle région de la francophonie êtes-vous natif et/ou avez-vous appris la langue de Molière?

Je suis un Québécois et un francophone semi-maternel. J'ai appris le français à un très jeune âge (enfant en bas âge), mais pas à la maison. Nous parlions habituellement anglais à la maison, alors mon français est un peu moins bon que mon anglais. Je parle certainement couramment, cependant.

Si vous êtes élu, que ferez-vous pour éviter le genre de problèmes qui ont mené à la démission de deux mods FSE? (Pour référence : Démission de mon poste de modérateur par Gilles et Une autre démission par Stéphane Gimenez.)

Honnêtement, en tant que modérateur qui a temporairement démissionné pendant tout ce gâchis, je pense qu'il y avait très peu de choses qu'un modérateur individuel pourrait faire pour éviter de telles circonstances. Le peu que nous pouvons faire est de toujours maintenir le plus haut niveau possible de gentillesse envers ceux qui nous entourent.

Thanks for reading! / Merci d'avoir lu !

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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?

Assuming that spontaneous community attempts are not getting through, including my own participation in comments, I would approach the person privately and make the above observation, perhaps emphasizing the valuable answers, but not glossing over the necessity of getting along better with the community. If this was ignored I would come with another moderator or respected member of the community to make the same points. If this was ignored and we had to consult as moderators, I would advocate a temporarya account closure.

Those who've known me here know that I'm diplomatic, but I'm also firm about the fact that community comes first. Valuable answers are just part of the bargain. A disrespectful person who gives valuable answers can drive away others who give equally valuable answers. And a knowledgeable person who feels a sense of goodwill and respect may be inclined to take the time to write a valuable answer. Valuable answers are a byproduct of having created a good place to share them. That's why people come to SE sites instead of reading Wikipedia articles.

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

Assuming it's not negligible, I would ask in the moderator chatroom for context and the decision process. Having heard that, if I still felt otherwise, I would give my reasons. Only if the other mod(s) and I understand each other's reasoning should we consider undoing an action.

In your opinion, what do moderators do?

They troubleshoot things the community is not able to or does not have the tools to do fast enough, and they help resolve or prevent conflicts of opinion on the operation of the site itself. They inherently promote the site by making it healthier and more welcoming.

A diamond will be attached to everything you say and have said in the past, including questions, answers and comments. Everything you will do will be seen under a different light. How do you feel about that?

A person should speak and write respectfully whether their messages have diamonds or not. In my case, since I use my real name on this forum, I already aim for integrity in what I write here. Lest past answers be taken as somehow more authoritative, I also have a habit of noting that I'm open to improvements, corrections, and questions and I try not to stand on legs I don't have (to coin a phrase).

Badges and diamonds widen existing gaps between perceived authority and quality of content. I can't think of any particular contribution where I've made the mistake of allowing such gaps. If there any, I'll continue to invite correction!

In what way do you feel that being a moderator will make you more effective as opposed to simply reaching 10k or 20k rep?

Probably only the tools, the discussion with other mods with the same privileges, and the obligation to be active rather than passive. Those seem to be the only differences given that I already have the community's acceptance (as far as I perceive it) and all the privileges granted by rep thresholds.

De quelle région de la francophonie êtes-vous natif et/ou avez-vous appris la langue de Molière? (From which region of the Francophonie are you a native and/or have learned the language of Molière?)

I learned French the Canadian school system (Toronto area) from Grade 1 or so. I stuck with it till Grade 12, acquiring — as most do in Anglophone schools here — a fairly formal, European-accented French that was good for reading Molière but of little use for conversing with a stranger on the street. In university I chose a double major in English and French linguistics, further formalizing my knowledge. I was exposed to some other varieties, e.g. through a course in French phonology where I had to transcribe recordings, and I got some oral practice in debates, but it was still mostly a literary language for me.

After university I began to tutor students in French. It was a godsend that I happened to get a student whose mother was born in Québec and who went to a Francophone school. Striving to speak and understand their French for an hour at a stretch, about the most basic issues in school, stretched me immensely. I also began acquiring lots of French music, watching movies in French and turning off subtitles, listening to French radio, and reading more widely. I visited France and Montréal and was delighted to find that I could now sustain conversation in French. Since then, I've also begun teaching French in a high school and volunteering as a judge in French speaking contests. I still have imperfections and have much to learn, but I have no trouble understanding or making myself understood anymore, and some of the original flavour of the academic study of the language has been retained from my upbringing.

If elected, what will you do to help prevent the type of issues that led to the resignation of two FSE mods? (For reference: Gilles' Démission de mon poste de modérateur and Stéphane Gimenez' Une autre démission.)

I can't imagine that the prevention of those issues would lie in the hands of moderators on FSE, nor that preventing them is desirable. I suppose they might have stayed if our little site had become a base for change; for example, if all of us had joined together in sending messages to the SO staff and had been heard, then our mods might have felt it was of some good that they remain part of a unanimous voice. In that light I think the best thing we can do is aim for more cohesion and more listening to the average community member (that is, to model what SO should have done in the first place).

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English (French below)

Hello there, I'm Reyedy and I am applying to be a moderator on French SE. Here is my take on the questionnaire:

  1. 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?

In the first place, I would try to take posts individually, regardless of who made them. If a comment is relevant, it can stay, if not, it has to be removed. Then, if the situation becomes difficult (the user starts to complain, or people start to complain about them), I would try to talk with the user. I say it in my answer below and I say it here: communication is the key to everything.

I would want to know how the user feels about some of their posts being removed, if they understand why people are complaining about them, and explain it otherwise. After reaching an understanding, I would try to guide the user: explaining them what are the best practices, how to make sure a comment is relevant, giving examples, etc. I feel like you need to put a certain amount of pedagogy in your approach if you are to be a successful moderator.

However, it is also important to remain firm if necessary. If I am not listened, if the user does not care about improving and keeps generating arguments and flags, I will keep removing the problematic content, because the most important thing is that French SE content remains clean.

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

One word: communication. If I disagree with a fellow moderator, I will talk to them, try to explain how I feel like the situation should have been handled, and try to understand why they took a different approach instead. I will always assume that there was a good reason behind the action, and this way, it will make me improve as a moderator as I will have learned something out of this.

But I will never interfer in another moderator's actions without talking to them first. For instance, I will never reopen a post that was closed by someone else without convincing the person that it is the right thing to do.

  1. In your opinion, what do moderators do?

First of all, moderators are active members of the community: like standard active users, they review, edit and improve posts. But that is not all. The "A Theory Of Moderation" blog post sums it up pretty well: moderators are exception handlers. They are given tools to solve situations that cannot be solved by the community alone (e.g. conflicts, problematic users like the one described in question 1., etc.).

I also feel like moderators are ambassadors for a community: they represent it, and they should do their best to make it a welcoming, respectful and safe environment. They are privileged users, trusted by their peers who elected them. It comes with a responsibility regarding behaviour and activity.

  1. A diamond will be attached to everything you say and have said in the past, including questions, answers and comments. Everything you will do will be seen under a different light. How do you feel about that?

I said it a bit in my previous answer: moderators are ambassadors and should show a good image of the community they represent. However, personally, it will not change the way I behave. As a member or as a moderator, I will always make sure to be respectful, welcoming and benevolent.

The diamond does look cool, I give you that.

  1. In what way do you feel that being a moderator will make you more effective as opposed to simply reaching 10k or 20k rep?

Let's face it: French SE is a small community. We are at a very different scale from Stack Overflow, and it's likely that reaching enough reputation to have access to moderation tools would already allow me to solve 99% of the everyday situations here. However, what being a moderator does is that it gives me these tools now, so I can have everything I need to help the community as much as I can.

  1. De quelle région de la francophonie êtes-vous natif et/ou avez-vous appris la langue de Molière ? (From which region of the Francophonie are you a native and/or have learned the language of Molière?)

I was born in the South-East French countryside, about 80km from Lyon (if that helps putting it on a map). Therefore, I learned how to speak French "naturally" as a native, and school taught me the grammar and the rules.

A few more facts just so you guys know more about me:

  • Where I come from, there is a dialect called gaga.
  • I like seeing French language evolve with usage, and I like words coming from English: let's not forget that we had a big influence on their language in the past, they are just making up for it!
  • I don't like the Académie Française.
  • I say pain au chocolat.
  1. If elected, what will you do to help prevent the type of issues that led to the resignation of two FSE mods?

Both of these moderators resignated because they did not agree with some decisions made by StackExchange regarding the community. There is not much I can do to solve such situations. However, what I know from what I read recently is that SE is willing to build back the link with its community.

To be fully honest, I have a very small interest in political intricacies in SE: I just want to help a community built around a language I love.

If anything needs clarification, please feel free to comment this answer and I will be happy to answer!

Français

Bonjour à tous, je suis Reyedy et je candidate au poste de modérateur de French SE. Voici mes réponses au questionnaire (j'ai considéré qu'il me tutoyait, de façon totalement arbitraire) :

  1. Comment gérerais-tu un utilisateur qui produit des réponses pertinentes, mais génère un nombre important de discussions/flags par ses commentaires ?

Tout d'abord, j'essaierais de prendre le contenu individuellement, quel que soit son auteur. Si une réponse ou un commentaire est pertinent, il peut rester, sinon il doit être supprimé. Par la suite, si la situation devenait difficile (l'utilisateur commence à se plaindre, ou d'autres personnes commencent à se plaindre de lui), j'essaierais de discuter avec cet utilisateur. Je le répète dans ma réponse à la question suivante et je le dis ici : la communication est la clé de tout.

J'aimerais comprendre comment l'utilisateur se sent vis-à-vis des suppressions de contenu, s'il comprend pourquoi les gens s'en plaignent, quitte à le lui expliquer si ce n'est pas le cas. Une fois cela fait, je tenterais de guider l'utilisateur : lui indiquer les bonnes pratiques, comment s'assurer qu'un commentaire est pertinent, en donnant des examples, etc. Selon moi, il est nécessaire de privilégier une approche pédagogique pour être un bon modérateur.

Ceci dit, il est aussi important de savoir être ferme si nécessaire. Si je ne suis pas écouté, si l'utilisateur ne souhaite pas s'améliorer et continue de générer des conflits et des flags, je continuerai de supprimer les messages problématiques, car la chose la plus importante est que le contenu de French SE reste propre.

  1. Comment gérerais-tu une situation où un autre modérateur fermerait/supprimerait une question qui selon toi ne le méritait pas ?

Un mot : communication. Si je ne suis pas d'accord avec un autre modérateur, je vais lui parler, tenter d'expliquer comment selon moi la situation aurait dû être gérée, et essayer de comprendre pourquoi il a choisi une solution différente. Par défaut, je vais toujours considérer qu'il y a une bonne raison derrière l'action. Cela me permettra de m'améliorer en tant que modérateur et j'aurai appris de cette situation.

Cependant, je n'interférerai jamais dans les actions d'un autre modérateur sans lui avoir parlé d'abord. Par exemple, je ne rouvrirai pas une question qui a été fermée par quelqu'un d'autre, sans convaincre le modérateur en question qu'il s'agit de la bonne chose à faire.

  1. Selon toi, que font les modérateurs ?

Tout d'abord, les modérateurs sont des membres actifs de la communauté : tout comme les membres "classiques", ils revoient, éditent et améliorent des posts. Mais ce n'est pas tout : comme l'indique avec justesse l'article A Theory Of Moderation, les modérateurs gèrent les exceptions. On leur fournit des outils permettant de résoudre les situations que la communauté seule ne peut gérer (ex : des conflits, des utilisateurs problématiques comme celui décrit dans la question précédente, etc.).

Je pense aussi que les modérateurs sont ambassadeurs de leur communauté : ils la représentent, et doivent s'assurer qu'elle reste un lieu accueillant, respectueux et inclusif. Ils sont des utilisateurs privilégiés, à qui les pairs ont donné leur confiance en les élisant. Il existe donc une responsabilité en termes d'activité et de comportement.

  1. Un diamant sera attaché à tout ce que tu diras et as dit par le passé, y compris les questions, réponses et commentaires. Tout ce que tu vas faire sera vu sous un nouveau jour. Quel est ton sentiment à ce sujet ?

Je l'ai un peu dit dans ma réponse précédente : les modérateurs sont des ambassadeurs, et doivent montrer une bonne image de la communauté qu'ils représentent. Toutefois, à titre personnel, cela ne va pas changer la façon dont je me comporte. Que je sois membre ou modérateur, je m'efforce d'être respectueux, accueillant et bienveillant.

Le petit diamant à côté du pseudo est sympa, je vous l'accorde.

  1. En quoi penses-tu qu'être un modérateur te rendra plus efficace qu'atteindre 10k ou 20k de réputation ?

Soyons honnêtes : French SE est une petite communauté. Nous évoluons à une échelle très différente de Stack Overflow, et il est probable qu'avoir suffisamment de réputation pour accéder aux outils de modération me permettrait déjà de résoudre 99% des situations au quotidien. L'intérêt d'être modérateur est d'accéder à ces outils dès maintenant, pour avoir tout le nécessaire pour aider la communauté du mieux que je peux.

  1. De quelle région de la francophonie êtes-vous natif et/ou avez-vous appris la langue de Molière ? (From which region of the Francophonie are you a native and/or have learned the language of Molière?)

Je suis né à la campagne, dans le Sud-Est de la France, à environ 80km de Lyon (dans la région de Saint-Etienne). J'ai donc appris le français "naturellement" en tant que locuteur natif, et l'école m'a appris les règles de grammaire et de conjugaison.

Quelques infos pour en savoir plus sur moi :

  • D'où je viens, il y a un patois appelé le gaga.
  • J'aime voir évoluer le français avec l'usage, et je suis ouvert aux anglicismes à partir du moment où ils n'ont pas d'équivalent en français : n'oublions pas que nous avons eu une grande influence sur la langue anglaise par le passé, ils se rattrapent simplement !
  • Je n'aime pas l'Académie Française.
  • Je dis "pain au chocolat".
  1. Si tu es élu, que feras-tu pour éviter les problèmes ayant mené à la démission de deux modérateurs de FSE ?

Ces deux modérateurs ont démissionné car il n'étaient plus en accord avec certaines décisions prises par StackExchange à propos de la communauté. Il n'y a pas grand-chose que je puisse faire pour résoudre ces situations. Par contre, d'après ce que j'ai lu récemment, SE semble faire preuve de bonne volonté pour recréer le lien avec sa communauté.

Pour être tout à fait honnête, je ne porte que très peu d'intérêt aux intrigues politiques autour de SE : je souhaite simplement aider une communauté qui s'est construite autour d'une langue que j'aime.

Si vous souhaitez que je clarifie certains points, n'hésitez pas à commenter cette réponse et je serai heureux de vous répondre !

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profile for Tsundoku on Stack Exchange, a network of free, community-driven Q&A sites

(Note: the above is my SE-wide flair; on French Language SE, I have only 315 reps at the time of writing.)

  1. 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?

The first line of action would be to contact that user using "public" tools. It is possible to respond to a comment by posting a response comment that points out how the same point could be raised in a more friendly, less argumentative, way and that the community should always try to foster a positive atmosphere. If the relevant comments have already been deleted as a result of flagging, it is also possible to raise the issue in the chatroom. However, since Chez Cosette is a rather quiet room (especially of late), this may not work. A moderator (like any other user with sufficient reps) can also invite that user to a chatroom just for those two users and discuss the issue there. However, if that user does not respond to any pings from chatrooms, the last line of action involves contacting the user as a moderator. The moderator tools already provide templates for various types of messages, which can be modified or expanded to fit the specific purpose. The tone should still be civil, since the goal is not to discourage the user from continuing to produce valuable questions and/or answers.

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

It is important to bear in mind that doing nothing is sometimes the best approach. Non-moderators with sufficient reps can vote to undelete or reopen a question that has been deleted by a moderator. This means that a moderator who disagrees with a question closure or deletion has several options: discussing it in the moderator chatroom, discussing it in the general chatroom (Chez Cosette) or simply waiting to see what non-moderators do about it. The latter option assumes that there are sufficient non-moderators who go through the review queues, which is not always the case on rather quiet sites. In order to get the reopen/undelete votes going, it is sometimes sufficient to ask in the public chatroom whether that question should have been closed or deleted. However, when the closure or deletion was the result of a moderator vote (without non-moderator votes), it may be wise to first raise the issue in the moderator chatroom; one should at least find out whether the other mod has a strong opinion on the matter. Should the closure or deletion be part of a pattern related to question quality or site scope, (re)check first whether there are relevant meta questions; otherwise, create a new meta question.

  1. In your opinion, what do moderators do?

A community should, strictly speaking, moderate itself: users with sufficient privileges can review submssions, flag issues, discuss issues in chat etc. For example, five close votes by non-moderators close a question without moderator intervention. Moderators step in in those scenarios where user privileges are insufficient, for technical or social reasons. Technical reasons include the removal of comments (comments can only be flagged, not downvoted or close-voted, so moderators handle the flags). Social reasons have to do with the fact that a fully egalitarian community has difficulty responding to troublesome users in a way that is appropriate and consistent over time: it is difficult and time-consuming to agree on a line of action among a fluctuating community (e.g. the constantly fluctuating subgroup of the community that enters the chatroom). Moderators have access to additional tools that allow them to make (a) more informed and (b) binding decisions. However, as mentioned above, a community should mainly moderate itself and moderators should not always feel compelled to step in. (Moderators can also delete questions and answers that are obviously spam, defacement or blatantly off-topic; for these types of content, waiting for five non-mod votes may take too long.)

Moderator can also contribute to keeping the site friendly, peace keeping and community building, but most of the things they can do in this area can also be done by other users.

  1. A diamond will be attached to everything you say and have said in the past, including questions, answers and comments. Everything you will do will be seen under a different light. How do you feel about that?

The diamond provides additional motivation to be nice (not just to new users), contribute to community building and check the quality of anything you post. While moderating Language Learning SE and Literature SE, I have not noticed extra scrutiny of things I wrote before becoming a moderator, so there is probably no reason to become paranoid about your old content.

  1. In what way do you feel that being a moderator will make you more effective as opposed to simply reaching 10k or 20k rep?

Moderators have access to additional tools, e.g. for dealing with troublesome users and speedily deleting inappropriate content, that are not available to 10k or even 20k rep users. Moderators can also create "events" and mark meta questions as "featured", so they appear in the site's sidebar. These last two tools can be used to focus community activity on specific topics.

  1. De quelle région de la francophonie êtes-vous natif et/ou avez-vous appris la langue de Molière? (From which region of the Francophonie are you a native and/or have learned the language of Molière?)

Je suis belge néerlandophone et j'ai appris la langue de Voltaire à l'école (dès la cinquième année de l'école primaire) et, après mes études en langues et littératures germaniques, dans des centres de formation pour adultes. Aujourd'hui je suis plus à l'aise en anglais et en allemand; néanmoins, je pense que je suis au niveau C1 du CECRL.

  1. If elected, what will you do to help prevent the type of issues that led to the resignation of two FSE mods?

As a moderator, I don't see myself as a representative of Stack Overflow Inc (the company) but at best as a representative of the users of French Language SE. I say "at best" because moderator elections still focus on moderation tasks that require access to specific privileges and tools to keep this site (French SE) going and not on representing French SE's community to Stack Overflow.

Several changes have been implemented to help prevent the type of issues we witnessed last summer:

  • The Teachers' Lounge, a chat room for moderators, was "moved" to a different domain (Meta SE) where it can be more properly moderated.
  • SO introduced the Moderator Council, whose members represent the moderator community and thereby indirectly also non-mod users.

So in addition to flagging and/or deleting offensive content on French SE (main, meta and chat), my job would involve doing the same on Meta SE and in other chatrooms. It would also involve reviewing policy changes (e.g. Code of Conduct, Moderator Agreement, etc.) more closely than before last summer.

Let me add that during the day I work in digital accessibility, which is an area where diversity is also important. It is an area in which I have also witnessed shortsightedness and uncivility, but whereas making things accessible to people with disability can cost time and effort, being tolerant online does not. There is no excuse for that.

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