2019 Moderator Election

Hello Community o/

since I was sadly not elected Loong time ago, I felt from the inside of my heart that this story has not ended there. Being pH13 - yet another Philipp from then on just felt like ... not enough ... Now as a moderator position is open again, I think that pH13 - Yet another JanitorModerator would be a way better fit for me.

But, admittedly, I am no regular answerer, as writing a good answer always takes some time and, currently, much of my time goes into my small family and my work.

However, I am a daily visitor and I think helping with moderator duties should not take that much time per task and thus fits better to me than writing those high quality answers which is being done by many other great users here. I would really like to have the possibility to support the chem.se community by doing this because I think it is important and very interesting.

On top: My 10 years in chemistry give me the needed knowledge to know what fits to this site or not. The work with students and my child shows me how important patience is on a daily basis and trying to get my PhD in chemistry trains me to get problems solved.

\o Thank you for your time. :)

I think I could do more to buildup and maintain the Chem SE community as a moderator. I've only been an active user for a little over two years now, but I have taken an active role in the upkeep of the site through numerous reviews, edits, and meta discussions, as well as intersite promotion. I think I have demonstrated the capability to handle the responsibilities of being a moderator.

When I first started on the site, I (like a lot of new users now) jumped in to participate without a full understanding of how the site worked and what the community expected from questions. Looking back at some of my first questions, I see the way the moderators gently nudged me in the right direction until I knew the ropes. I don't think I would be nearly as active today if it weren't for the moderators being patient and willing to not just chastise, but instruct on how to get the most of the site. My hope is to provide that same welcoming first contact to new and returning users of the site.

Since Chemistry.SE is a rather small community, I assume I've already interacted with many in one way or another and you already have an opinion on who I am.

Why me

• I like order and clarity. I probably won't hesitate to roll up my sleeves and try to improve the messy post if I see room for improvement. Over 1500 edits.

• I somehow manage to arrive at the wreckage pretty early. Over 1200 flags.

• I estimate my time investment to Chemistry.SE as at least about 8 hours per week. Member for over 2 years, visited over 500 days, e.g. about 65% of the time.

• I like to think that I vote not just a lot, but fair, too, and that I can also see the difference between right and wrong (as long as it's not about organic chemistry:) ). Over 9000 vote casts (pun … intended?).

Why not me

• I'm not particularly active on Meta, let alone Chat, or tag wiki. However, I try to reach back if I was pinged.

• I might be quick in judgement and not politically correct enough for the modern world.

• No prior moderation experience on any of the SE sites.

Questionnaire – Answers

Why I Would Make a Good Moderator

• I've been a member of Chemistry.SE for nearly 7 years.
• My impact score is ~930k people reached.
• I have been heavily involved in both Chem.SE and its meta.
• I often take a cleanup role on the site. I find questions and answers and improve their quality.
• I work to find areas of growth for the site, both on-site and off.
• I have moderation experience on other websites.
• I'm a naturally friendly, positive person and pride myself in being helpful and kind.
• I believe in second chances and aim to be more helpful to those unfamiliar with the structure of the site rather than being punitive.
• I see room for improvement wherever I go.

I'd be a good moderator because:

• While I do not work as a chemist, I do hold a Ph.D. in the subject (the less-employable subspecialty known as theoretical chemical physics) and a Master's in geology (where I did actually work in a laboratory and focussed on aqueous geochemistry). I note for completeness that I do not work as a geologist, either. That said, I do remember a lot of stuff from when I studied/practiced (in academia and industry) and am usually swift to downvote and/or vote to close a lot of content that I feel is not appropriate for our curated collection.

• Most of my contributions are in the Review section of the site, which is where I believe I have the highest impact on keeping the quality of content on this site at a high level.

• In real life, I deal with conflict all the time. I'm pretty good at managing it, and make a living that way. So in terms of dealing with squabbles that arise on this site, I am confident that I can present a reasonably levelheaded approach towards resolution.

• My attendance is quite good and I do try to answer questions that are more general chemistry or things that are not about organic chemistry, which I am not good at.