Scratch

Hello all, I would like to take this opportunity to nominate myself for Scratch Community Moderator. I normally don't like to recycle speeches, but I like the one I wrote in advance of the last election, which will be posted here.

Hello and thank you for taking the time to read this. My name is gettysburg11, and I am running for Community Moderator. Almost from the time I joined Scratch, I have aspired to be a moderator, and now that the opportunity has come, I hope to take advantage of it. I have been here since June of 2008, and have really enjoyed the times I’ve spent here. Since I started using the forums in April 2009, I’ve been a helpful contributor to the Scratch community. I’ve done things such as:
- Answer questions in the All About Scratch and Troubleshooting forums
- Fill requests in the Requests forum
- Show approval for a suggestion or politely explain why I dislike it or it won’t happen
- Give my feedback on projects in Show and Tell
and much more. I usually spend a lot of time on the forums and site already, but if I am elected, I will spend even more time here (once I’m done with schoolwork, of course). Thus, almost whenever there’s a problem with spam or a question needing an answer, I can be there.
   
Most of the time, I’m positive and passionate about what I’m doing, so I won’t take the moderator position as just a fancy title; I realize how important of a position it is, and how big of an honor it would be to become one. Moderators are supposed to be role models for the entire community, and if elected, I will give my all towards being a role model for the entire community, not just the forums and not just the main site, but the entire community.

Thank you for reading this, and I hope you'll choose me for Scratch Community Moderator! 

Appendix A  : :Just an add-on to my original post after reading cheddargirl's suggestion on the discussion topic.

On that topic, cheddargirl said that us nominees should talk more about what ideas we'd like to implement in the community. It is a very interesting subject that I will admit I hadn't thought much about until reading that post. I have now taken the time to think about what I might like to see implemented in the community or to have more of in the community, and have come up with two main ideas.

1. More Collab Challenges
I've seen a lot of collaborations fail in my time here, but I've also seen many succeed. The key to the ones that succeeded is that they weren't overly drawn out so people wouldn't lose interest and leave. The Collab Challenge this past year was one of those times when I saw collaboration succeed. The timeline wasn't too long, so teams were able to get their projects done in time with everyone contributing. With more examples like this set, more regular collabs might see how to work properly, and more may succeed and make some great projects.

2. A seperate forum for modifications
A while back, coolstuff made this thread about perhaps making a seperate forum for modifications of Scratch, so as to clear up the Advanced Topics forum. This was an idea that I supported then, and still support now. Sadly, the topic has a tendency to fade away, but is an idea worthy of being brought up and discussed again.

Last edited by gettysburg11 (2011-07-18 20:31:33)

Hey everyone! I'm fourteen, and I've been on Scratch for over two years now and go on the forums everyday. I'm very active, having over three thousand posts and about fifteen hundred comments.

I want to be a moderator so that I can serve the community more than just posting in the All About Scratch forum and reporting offending posts. I also realize that being a community mod is much more than just moving topics and deleting spam- it's being a role-model and a leader, and I'm totally ready to take on that burden. In fact, I was a counselor just this past week at a daycamp for 5th - 7th graders.

Some more advantages in picking me:
- I have lots of free time.
- I already know many of the mod tools, and for the ones I don't know, I'm a quick learner.
- I know when to be serious and when to be silly.
- I visit Misc. the most, and I understand you need nore help moderating Misc.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and good luck to my fellow candidates. :-)

Last edited by Sunrise-Moon (2011-07-16 10:53:35)

Hello, members of the Scratch community. My name is Aidan, and I will be nominating myself to be a moderator this election. I have been a dedicated member of the Scratch community for over three years. I am 13 years old, and as such, am eligible for this year's elections.

As Lightnin has said on the Discussion Thread, the Scratch moderator they are looking for this summer to fill the single open spot should be active on other parts of the site as well as the forums, especially Miscellaneous. It just so happens that the main site and Misc. are areas I tend to be active in.

If elected, I will moderate Misc. at any chance I get. I already know many of the Misc. dwellers, so it would be easy to trasnsition to moderator. I admit that I am guilty of prowling mostly in the Inspiration & More area of the forums, but I will occasionally wander into the other parts of the forum, especially to answer questions in All About Scratch, look at what other users are sharing in Show & Tell, read up on Announcements, welcome New Scratchers, or make Suggestions on how to improve the Scratch website or program.

I won't go into bragging about myself or tooting my own horn as a way to get myself elected. Instead, I will let you, the community, decide if I would be a good choice for moderator.

It would be an honor to be chosen and to serve as a moderator for this community which I have long been part of, and seen prosper and grow, and I would do my best to uphold the values and perform the duties bestowed upon me as a moderator.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

A moderator hopeful,
Aidan.

Hello all members of the scratch community. I would like to nominate myself. I am SSSS, a 14 and a quarter year old boy.  I spend alot of time on the scratch fora, and hope to keep the community are happy, friendly place.  I  registerred in 2007, then became active on the fora a year afterwards.   I always try and keep on-topic.  I report things that I believe belong somewhere else, are inappropriate always.   I have never has a role of importance at this site, and this role seems like a good opportunity.  I believe that the current moderators are doing a really great job, however, and that even if there wasn't a spot for another moderator the site would be great.  I believe that I could help the miscellanious forum by:
    - Keeping track of when emails are shared.
          While it's great people want to communicate, these aren't allowed to be shared
          on the scratch fora.  I hope to remove these from posts as soon as I see them.
    - Removing inappropriate language:
        - Let's face it, people avoid the filters.  I hope to keep these posts away
    - Moving threads to the appropriate place:
       - If people request it
       - If it needs moving (Wrong forum?)
    - Closing threads:
        - If it is requested
        - If it is a TBG
        - For removal of flaming?
    - Keeping the miscellanious forum friendly:
        - Removing flamebait
        - Anything to keep it friendly 

I will also do this regularly on the other forums.

To sum this all up:
  I hope to be ellected as the next community moderator to help keep the scratch forums as friendly as they have always been, and to keep all the people happy. 

(Wow, what happened to brief?

Hey there, Scratchers and Scratch Team!

Right now is the Scratch Community Moderator Election. What does that mean? To some, it means a short time when we can goof off and have a popularity contest. However in reality is time for us to join together and decide, who should take a position for however many "terms" are necessary to help manage some of the inner-workings the Scratch community. This means being a good Scratcher in assisting all of the parts of the community, whether its behind-the-scenes, cleaning up spam and moving topics, to the main scene of providing feedback to users in whatever they're working on, and making sure everybody stays kind in respectful wherever it is -- whether its the posts on the forums to the comments on projects.

Thus, for me, I would like to run as I believe I would be a very good candidate to become a moderator. Now why should you vote for me, I hear you ask? For many reasons, as you will see.

I have been a a constantly positive contributor in the Scratch Community, for 4 whole years, and counting  . To start off, I have participated in all of the Scratch Day events at MIT, and I am an administrator/bureaucrat Scratch Wiki (over 1,200 contributions so far)! In addition, I've been a valuable helper on the Scratch Forums (the one you're looking at right now - over 5,000 non-spam posts!). But most importantly, I have made many different projects (varying from animation to games, even some made in collabs), and have posted 3,000+ of constructive comments on others' projects, giving good feedback. As far as group work experience, I do participate in Prism, a collaboration of 10 scratchers to make high-quality projects.

So why do I specifically want to run for moderator? I feel that despite all of the work of the current moderators, there's still work to be done, and there are many periods of time when I see that no moderators are online to help give feedback and prevent spam on the forums - so I would be a helpful moderator to fill in the gap. In addition, I would serve as a great role model in the community, as I show that even though I have had my mistakes in the past (no bans though), I have gotten better and have regained much of my reputation, and am a very positive Scratcher, giving good advice to Scratchers of all ages and knowledge, with all-around experience.

I have practiced my moderating duties very much so far in treating others kindly, as I have good experience of helping others, and I do often flag comments/projects and report different bugs and such to the Scratch Team  .

Also, I am very active on the community usually on at least 1-2 hours each day.

As for characteristics of me,

- I am very mature, so I can handle different situations appropriately.
- I am very empathetic, so I can understand other's feelings, and try to help them the best I can.
- I can listen well to other's opinions so I can represent the Scratch community's ideas the best I can  .
- I am very creative, so I can help with different suggestions and elaborate on ideas.

In addition, I have lots of Scratch and other programming experience, whether it's animation, art, scrolling, lists, just about anything, so if a Scratcher has a problem, I can always help  .

The Scratch Community has been a great place where I have learned a lot about programming, creative learning and the internet. I'd love to further help the Scratch Community by becoming a moderator, and giving something back. So do please give me consideration as a person you should be voting for; you won't regret it    .

Thanks, and Scratch On! 

Edited in at a later time:

Some people have asked me, what I can do specifically for miscellaneous, since that is one of the main focuses in this election. Well, I feel I would do especially well in this situation since I have experience in keeping multi-person discussions under control in a good manner, while keeping it on-topic while giving everybody a chance to express their opinion. Now where is this experience from? The Scratch Wiki. I have been part of the Scratch Wiki pretty much since it ever existed, even before it migrated to the Scratch servers. At the Scratch Wiki, we edit to create an encyclopedia-like collection of articles that are a reliable source for all Scratchers to use. Part of this is not only editing the articles, but discussing what parts we should include or leave out (to prevent bias), how certain sentences should be worded, or even what features should be included in the wiki. Most of this is done on the Community Portal. Again, in the earlier days, I used to cause a bit of havoc, but through the forums and the Scratch Wiki, I know how to handle discussions well and prevent any feelings from being hurt.

Thus, for miscellaneous, I can help make it be a place where anybody can have a discussion and not feel left out, making sure everybody has a say and doesn't have to worry.   

Last edited by Lucario621 (2011-07-19 16:19:54)

Well, looks who's announcing his candidacy at the last second again! It seems the moderator elections have caught me by surprise again.

Anyway, on to business! I don't plan on writing anything too long (or formal!), but then again I've never been one for being too wordy.

*Ahem* As you probably know, I've been an active and frequent contributor on the forums for quite some time now. I always do my best to help out those who need it in All About Scratch and Troubleshooting, or give input to an idea in the suggestions forum. Now of course, I don't need to be a moderator to do that, so why is it relevant here? It proves that not only can I provide useful advice, but that I am also willing to dedicate time and energy to helping the community here on Scratch. I understand that being a moderator is hard work, and I am prepared to make time for it if need be.

Being helpful and being able to dedicate time to Scratch is great, but what would I actually do as moderator? Besides the obvious removing spam, maintenance, etc., I think it's important for moderators to be active in the community. Scratch is already a great community, but active moderators that can be seen at work and act as role models can be a catalyst for the growth and organization of the community. I promise that I will continue to be active on the forums as much as I can should I be elected moderator.

I know we all get frustrated when we see the same question or suggestion posted over and over again. A lot of work has gone into this already, given the threads posted to try to answer some of these questions. It's my hope, however, to work to see what can be done about this. While I don't think there will ever be a complete solution (you can't force people to do their research!) I think we can come up with something.

I see also that new mods should focus on the Miscellaneous forum. (I guess I don't feel so bad about spending so much time there now!) It is true that Misc can get off-topic and a little rowdy rather easily, so it will be my goal encourage people to keep their head on straight and be a good role model, as well as doing the expected moderator duties there.

I think that's pretty much all I have to say for now. I hope I haven't bored you, and appreciate your time. Good luck to all those running, and may the best candidate win!

Why do I want to be a Community Moderator? Well, I think that there is a lack of mods in the +10 time zone or thereabouts. This is why I thought Jonathanpb would have been a good mod. But he's decided not to run in this election. Chrischb is pretty busy maintaining the TBG forums.

If I were you I would vote for ssss or what-the. They are both pretty active and are both in that time-zone. Although I don't think what-the is running in this election.

Sometimes, I come on and there are topics that should be removed. I report them right away of course, but then the topic has to wait until Cheddargirl or someone else comes on. This all happens at about 3:00am Central US time.

Then I thought that I could go for a mod as well! This would have been way out of my reach a few years ago (and I wasn't 13 then anyway) but I feel confident now that I can handle the job.

We need to have clean forums throughout the day and night. Don't you think so too?

I am homeschooled. This means that I can check on the forums throughout my day. I can come on even more on weekends.

Make the wise choice and vote for a mod that we really need.

I love Scratch. I would do almost anything to help make it better and maintain it.