Hey folks, Mumberthrax here again with another meta-post about our subverse seeking input from you all. This one is about moderation and moderators.

As some of you may know from my introduction post a bit ago, I'm the new level 1 moderator on /v/conspiracy, thus I have the ability to add or remove moderators here. It is a responsibility I do not take lightly. There has been some discussion throughout the life of this subverse about moderation, some happy and some not so happy with the current arrangement. I'd like to offer this post as an invitation to sit down and get everything out on the table and see what people think is an appropriate way of handling things.

Moderators on voat have a few technical abilities granted by the site. They can:

• remove posts and comments
• change the appearance of the subverse through CSS and editing the sidebar
• feature posts by sticky-ing them at the top of the subverse
• distinguish their comments to show that they are moderators and are speaking in an official capacity
• ban/unban accounts from posting/commenting
• create and apply text flair on submissions
• set the sub as private, NSFW, anonymous, or excluded from /v/all
• require a certain amount of CCP in the sub for a user to be able to downvote

These tools can be used for good or ill, either overtly or subtly.

So, some topics I'd like to hear from you all on:

1. Responsibilities of moderators:
   What should moderators of /v/conspiracy be responsible for? What is appropriate conduct? What is inappropriate conduct?

2. Moderator Activity Levels:
   How active should moderators be? Should mods who are inactive for a given period of time be spoken to and/or asked to step down, or be removed? What constitutes activity/inactivity?

3. Transparency and Accountability:
   What should be public? What should be mods-eyes-only? How might mods be held accountable for misconduct?

4. How moderators are added:
   How should mods be chosen? Popularity contests? CCP scores? Random selection? Selection by existing moderators? Something else entirely?
   Additionally, how long should people be moderators for?

5. Should any changes be made to the mod team right now?:
   Should any moderators be added? Should any be removed? If any should be removed, why?

I've got opinions and thoughts on each of these, but it would not be appropriate for me to share them in this post, so I'll likely do so in the comments.

If you have any opinions or thoughts on these, whether you are a regular or a newcomer, a skeptic or a true believer, a moderator or non-moderator, subscriber or here from /v/all, I invite you to join in and let others know what's on your mind. If you don't want to comment here, and would rather make your own post, please feel free to either post to /v/conspiracy or /v/conspiracymeta.

I'll be stickying this post for one week (2015/6/9 to 2015/6/16) to make sure any regulars are able to see and comment on it, and be heard. I'm not yet sure what will happen after that, my plans with regard to this are dependent upon what comes up in this discussion. Regardless, I'll post a followup of some sort of another within a week of this one being unsticky'd.

Edit 2015/6/16: I'll be extending the duration this post remains stickied by two days due to the extended downtime Voat endured over the past week. It will be unstickied on 2015/6/18.

Edit 2015/6/18: Unstickying this post now so it won't be an eyesore any longer. I will post a followup within the next week.

Edit: Followup post: [Meta] v/Conspiracy Community Discussion on Moderation: Followup