Aloha, DART!
We would like to announce that Speedrace will be joining the moderation team as an Assistant Moderator for Forums. His duties in this role will include overseeing the enforcement of restraining orders and forum restrictions as well as keeping a watchful eye over some of the more antagonistic forums to identify potential flamewars before they metastasize. He will also be a second opinion Virt and I can consult with on certain, forum-related matters. He will not be involved with vote moderation in this capacity, nor will he have access to the site's moderation interface.
Speed was selected from among several considered candidates for a few reasons. Chief among those reasons were his relatively high levels of activity, clean moderation record, being generally well-liked by the usership, and consistent respectfulness in engaging with other users. Mike has approved the appointment. I believe Speed is capable of serving impartially and intelligently and that he will be an asset to our moderation team.
Speed was offered this position on the afternoon of October 16th. He accepted the same day. This announcement was delayed so as not to detract from the then-ongoing Hall of Fame process and so as to give Speed time to review the site's conduct rules to prepare for this position. He has not been involved in any moderation activities since accepting this position given that he has only officially become a moderator today.
Moderation is hoping to bring on board one more Assistant Moderator for Voting within the next 6 months, at which point we believe our moderation team will be complete. No further additions are planned, nor do we believe at this time that a moderation team larger than what we have planned will be necessary in the foreseeable future.
If you have any questions, please let me know. Feel free to ask Speed any questions you have at this time or to go to him with any forum-specific issues (e.g. harassment, spam) you might be encountering. Of course, Virt and myself will still be available as well. Again, I'd like to welcome Speed to the team on behalf of moderation, and thank him for agreeing to take on this responsibility.
-Bsh1, Chief Moderator
