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?

I would advise the user to use a different tone and survey the user many times before making that decision. (edited)

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

I would contact the mod to give my reason to reopen it.

3. We currently have just over 38,500 (23%) of the questions asked here unanswered. If you think that's too many, then, as a moderator, would you see helping the community to address that number being a priority and, if so, how might you do that?

I would push the users to accept the answers if it is solved or give feedback about the solution found.

4. GIS can be overwhelming for new users. What steps would you take to help them write quality questions and feel comfortable engaging with the community, without being discouraged by complex topics or strict expectations? Furthermore, how would you encourage experienced users to support beginners, even when they are asking simple beginner questions, rather than just resorting to downvotes or voting to close?

I would never downvote someone that has just started and it is frustrated, I have felt so bad in my beginning when i was taking downvotes.

5. Do you have the time to be a community moderator on GIS SE? An old Meta SE question but still relevant is How much time do you spend on moderating?

Currently I'm working full time, but i will find time during the evenings.

6. In your opinion, what do moderators do?

Check the answers/replies and support the them with solution if known.

7. 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 don't care, i no wanna be mod to look different.

8. In what way do you feel that being a moderator will make you more effective as opposed to simply reaching enough reputation to access moderator tools or become a trusted user?

I think that being a moderator will make more responsible to open the forum and getting back here even when i don't have a question or searching for an answer.

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?

By simply communicating nicely with the user to reduce the number of arguments/flags.

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

I would ask the moderator the reason behind it then agree or disagree depending on the case

3. We currently have just over 38,500 (23%) of the questions asked here unanswered. If you think that's too many, then, as a moderator, would you see helping the community to address that number being a priority and, if so, how might you do that?

From my perspective, these are good numbers, and better than other sites as I can see from the page linked. If I had to look at how to improve, I would need to study the questions perhaps randomly and try to find a trend before looking into a solution

4. GIS can be overwhelming for new users. What steps would you take to help them write quality questions and feel comfortable engaging with the community, without being discouraged by complex topics or strict expectations? Furthermore, how would you encourage experienced users to support beginners, even when they are asking simple beginner questions, rather than just resorting to downvotes or voting to close?

I find downvotes a demotivating way to address this issue. Being a moderator comes beyond being great in GIS. The new users should be given an opportunity to improve their posts and amending or filling the gaps. If the users do not amend the post after a moderator has made a comment then... closing the post or downvoting should be in order.

5. Do you have the time to be a community moderator on GIS SE? An old Meta SE question but still relevant is How much time do you spend on moderating?

I log in every day before work and a few times during work to help reviewing questions or answers.

6. In your opinion, what do moderators do?

Moderators help to moderate the site of course. In short, they help in facilitating communication between all members, support the users in asking questions or answering and finally enforcing the rule and maintaining order.

7. 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 would stay the same.

8. In what way do you feel that being a moderator will make you more effective as opposed to simply reaching enough reputation to access moderator tools or become a trusted user?

As a moderator, I’ll make it a priority to address pressing issues head-on and communicate openly with other moderators. I’ll also proactively identify and resolve overlooked problems, ensuring a smoother and more effective community experience.

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?

A user who provides valuable answers should be praised for their effort and commitment. But SE is a place of rules. Rewarding a valuable user while addressing/suggesting ways in how they can avoid conflict is the best way forward. But even if a very valuable user continues to generate animosity after a polite intervention, or breaks any rules around appropriate behaviour, they should suffer the consequences laid out in our code of conduct. No one is bigger than the forum.

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

Communication is key. Trying to undo someone's actions is a path to conflict. A mod-to-mod discussion on the topic, entered with an open mind and willingness to change position is my preferred approach.

3. We currently have just over 38,500 (23%) of the questions asked here unanswered. If you think that's too many, then, as a moderator, would you see helping the community to address that number being a priority and, if so, how might you do that?

Reducing the number of unanswered questions is important. But it is a multi-faceted issue. Is the question appropriate? Is it being asked in the right place? Do our users have the resources to answer it? There is no single fix to this, but strict adherence to expectations is necessary. I was taught how to ask effective questions through a combination of downvotes and pointers towards the help pages. We should not be afraid to use the tools available to us.

4. GIS can be overwhelming for new users. What steps would you take to help them write quality questions and feel comfortable engaging with the community, without being discouraged by complex topics or strict expectations? Furthermore, how would you encourage experienced users to support beginners, even when they are asking simple beginner questions, rather than just resorting to downvotes or voting to close?

I teach for a living. Knowing how to constructively guide students is a challenge, particularly when dealing with a range of different kinds of 'learners' (an outdated but appropriate idea here). It starts with compassion for the learner. Then it is followed with constructive engagement and finding methods and solutions that work for THEM. Sometimes there is jargon in documentation even when mods think there isn't. I would strive to encourage new users to engage with the community by reminding them that our rules exist to build a platform that they can benefit from and our actions have the sole purpose of making them 'one of us'. Growing pains are normal. I would encourage experienced users to carefully evaluate questions. What are key giveaways that reveal the level of knowledge a user comes in with?

5. Do you have the time to be a community moderator on GIS SE? An old Meta SE question but still relevant is How much time do you spend on moderating?

This is where honesty is the best policy. Like very many people here, my professional and personal life is full of time consuming priorities. It may be that being unable to commit consistently may discount me - and that's ok if it's what the community needs. But I will always do what I can when I can.

6. In your opinion, what do moderators do?

The role of a moderator is to uphold the high standards and quality of resources that GIS SE provides. It is their responsibility to support learning, whether this be through supportive feedback or a willingness to police behaviour. The success of the forum comes above all else and the cornerstone of this is quality questions and answers.

7. 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?

Transparency is important. I welcome scrutiny for the greater good.

8. In what way do you feel that being a moderator will make you more effective as opposed to simply reaching enough reputation to access moderator tools or become a trusted user?

Hierarchical structures are designed to convey confidence in those elected to superior positions. With this in mind, achieving such status would enable me to perform my duties with confidence and authority. Likewise, being elected to such a position by peers would ensure I meet the expectations put on me and ensure I carry out my responsibilities.

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?

Encouraging this user to minimise the number of arguments/flags either in personal messages or comments. Also, suggest swapping to the chitchat room and cleaning up the comments section of any content that doesn't need to be retained. Otherwise, deleting them, as was already done before within this community (partially based on my experience too), so the user could learn something from it i.e. leave only vital and necessary comments/flags. I refer here to this thread: How do the new comment flags affect our comments?

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

Discussing this issue with this mod, if nothing could be agreed upon, then either leave it the way it is, because I respect another mod's action or point of view, or if this situation is something crucial bring it for discussion with other moderators.

3. We currently have just over 38,500 (23%) of the questions asked here unanswered. If you think that's too many, then, as a moderator, would you see helping the community to address that number being a priority and, if so, how might you do that?

It is simply a matter of time. If a certain question is still relevant at this moment (I can see that it became highly viewed or a new comment appeared etc.), then (as was done by other moderators) I could edit it (I suspect that questions edited by moderators are more solid), or provide a bounty. If a question is not "up-to-date" then try editing it at a certain point to bring some attention, or even deleting it, for instance, if the user was also deleted (deletion should be discussed with other moderators).

4. GIS can be overwhelming for new users. What steps would you take to help them write quality questions and feel comfortable engaging with the community, without being discouraged by complex topics or strict expectations? Furthermore, how would you encourage experienced users to support beginners, even when they are asking simple beginner questions, rather than just resorting to downvotes or voting to close?

This is such a relevant thing. That is what makes me deeply sad when a new user comes with a first question, and it gets downvoted just in seconds. My approach will be to give this question an upvote, leave a warm welcoming comment (if it was not left by other nice users before), edit it, and even protect this question for some time, so the user can get a feeling of welcomed and respected even if in our opinion a trivial question was asked.

5. Do you have the time to be a community moderator on GIS SE? An old Meta SE question but still relevant is How much time do you spend on moderating?

I do. For instance, I enjoy editing and upvoting questions and it became a part of my daily routine. So, I could simply continue executing it as a moderator. Time will depend on how the GIS SE will be busy in that day. But my aim is a constant minimum of 30 min per day.

6. In your opinion, what do moderators do?

The moderator works like an X-Ray, simply dismantling all the uncertainties, various backgrounds, and cultural differences and leaving a pure question with a geospatial context. Moreover, the moderator deals with conflicts, unravels the history of each question (if necessary), reacts to flags, and handles spam and scams.

7. 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?

Fully understandable and acceptable, as once Uncle Ben said: "With great power comes great responsibility."

8. In what way do you feel that being a moderator will make you more effective as opposed to simply reaching enough reputation to access moderator tools or become a trusted user?

I feel like a moderator role could be a new opportunity for me to become more active on this website, be engaged with this community more in-depth, and maybe bring some new vector of evolvement. Also from a technical point of view, I would like to have an unlimited number of upvotes per day, modify tags without being approved by other users, and edit questions with the Community account.

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?

I think that is the role of human moderators to deal with issues on a case by case basis. Adapting the approach to the actual situation and issues. Potentially engaging with the user one on one to highlight some of the issues would be enough.

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

Moderating a community is a team effort and there will always be actions taken by others that you do not fully agree with. But as long as it within the actual rules of the site that will usually be fine. But if I felt that they had overstepped on an occasion I would raise it with them directly, and if we could not come to a resolution I would raise it with the wider moderation team to come to a consensus.

3. We currently have just over 38,500 (23%) of the questions asked here unanswered. If you think that's too many, then, as a moderator, would you see helping the community to address that number being a priority and, if so, how might you do that?

I am not concerned about the unanswered % on the site. Very rarely does a well asked question not get an answer. Usually a well asked question gets many brilliant answers. A better statistic is how many people find the site useful?

But there are certainly some quick wins on this front as well:

1. The question has been answered but the answer has not been upvoted.

2. The question is answered in the comments. It is often felt as a faux pas to answer a question like this. But we should encourage it.

4. GIS can be overwhelming for new users. What steps would you take to help them write quality questions and feel comfortable engaging with the community, without being discouraged by complex topics or strict expectations? Furthermore, how would you encourage experienced users to support beginners, even when they are asking simple beginner questions, rather than just resorting to downvotes or voting to close?

GIS StackExchange provides an extremely useful resource to people learning about GIS, and specific issues. But it is very focused. It is a Q&A site, and we do need to maintain that. Questions need to be clear and have a possible correct solution.

But we can be supportive while maintaining those standards. The new user welcoming prompts I believe have worked well, and I feel this is a welcoming site. But it requires effort from all participants.

5. Do you have the time to be a community moderator on GIS SE? An old Meta SE question but still relevant is How much time do you spend on moderating?

I can commit 30 minutes a day on working days. Luckily with GIS tasks there is a fair amount of downtime while something is processing.

6. In your opinion, what do moderators do?

GIS StackExchange has clear defined rules and guidelines. But we are human and some interpretation is required. Moderators are here for then there is ambiguity and a human is needed.

7. 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 use my real name on GIS StackExchnge so I need to stand by what I post. This site reflects on who I am as a GIS professional.

8. In what way do you feel that being a moderator will make you more effective as opposed to simply reaching enough reputation to access moderator tools or become a trusted user?

Communities do need some level of official moderation, which goes past the reputational tools, and I would like to volunteer my time to make sure GIS StackExchange continues to be a trusted and valuable community.