I can’t remember a time when the board administration actually sent out a call for moderators. If this is the situation, I imagine that explains why, when I wanted to get approval for an iffy question I wanted to ask in GQ, I couldn’t find a list of moderators to ask.
And is this is a bad sign for the current and future state of the SDMB?
Oh, OK, I see. The information is still there but in a different place.
I was referring to the list of moderators that used to appear at the bottom of the page in the individual forums.
It’s still there. Which skin are you using?
To speak to the OP, looking at the lists of moderators for each forum is interesting. There aren’t that many different individuals involved; one moderator helps cover five forums including two of the most contentious ones (GD and Elections). Other moderators help cover two or three forums. I don’t know if that warrants any conclusions, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the moderators themselves would like to have the work spread out a little more.
We’re working on it.
Hey, try applying. Who knows what could happen.
Purely hypothetical, but does one get the coffee mug immediately upon being accepted as a mod? Also, if one were to resign immediately upon receiving said mug, would they have to return it?
Asking for a friend.
I believe the call-out was because TPTB are actually trying for a little more diversity ----- not because there is any shortage. I believe we’ve usually fallen between 10 and 15 with the average staff being a basically “Dirty Dozen”.
Gaudere is shown as a GD Mod (and the only GD mod), but she hasn’t shown up for over a year!?
This is not the first time we have put out a call for moderators. It’s not something we do often, but it’s not unheard of either.
In addition to the overall list posted by running coach upthread, there is also a list of moderators for each forum at the bottom of the forum page. This list does not show up on Sultantheme. It only shows up on the Straight Dope v3.7.3 theme.
You can’t join up just to get a mug. You have to earn it. Mods go through sort of a probationary period. Only when that is done do you get your mug (and even then often not for a long time afterwards - we’re not terribly good at getting mugs out on time). Many are called. Few get mugged. Wait, that’s not quite right…
When your probationary period ends you also get a raise, which is based on a percentage of your salary.
How many hours a day/week are expected?
Jonathan chance and tomndebb are both listed as GD mods. It do you mean the only one that is only a GD mod?
We do not have set hours or strict schedules, but you do need to be available. How much time you actually spend moderating can vary quite a bit.
For example, if you need to punt a spammer into the cornfield, that can be done fairly quickly. If you need to wade into the middle of a ten page thread and figure out the context of a particular post in a contentious and complex thread, that’s going to take a lot more time. Rush through it, and you’re more likely to whiff a call and end up getting run through the ringer in ATMB.
Generally, you aren’t going to be spending hours and hours moderating, but you do have to be able to respond to post reports within a reasonable amount of time.
We also occasionally have to deal with the occasional “spampocalypse” type situation, and then it’s all hands on deck.
It does take a fair amount of time and effort, and mods have stepped down when they have felt that they haven’t had enough time available to devote to it.
Agreed.
And the time commitment can vary from month to month. I know there are some times where I can devote a lot of time to moderating and others, say when the market’s going crazy, where I pretty much just respond to reports and the others have to carry the load.
So the time commitment is there, but it can be left to the rest of each forum’s moderators to allow for coverage if a mod is away, or whatever. I know when I was being treated for cancer in 2017 the others stepped up in a big way to cover for me when, for weeks, I just really wasn’t up to doing much.
Sorry, how would I know which skin I’m using?
What I have looks very traditional with the orange on blue or red color scheme, blue menu bar, etc.
I’ve been a mod already, and don’t wish to go back.
I got my coffee mug.
Over the last year I first had some health issues and then some personal issues that kept me off board more than in the past. Luckily I’m not in [del]purgatory[/del] GD or Elections so the work load isn’t as bad. Someone always steps up.
As for hours it would be nice to get mods in other time zones as we’ve had periodically in the past both for availability and a different perspective. It’s not 100% necessary because we have mods the keep strange hours as it is. Looks like I’ll be working overnight next year for example.
Very bottom of the page, drop down box on the left.
As e_c_g mentioned, the forum list only shows in 3.7.3, Sultantheme is riddled with bugs.
I have a pretty good idea. 
Sultantheme has been corrected a bit. Still not perfect but it might work for somebody, I dunno.
I didn’t like how it looks, but I’m old fashioned.
When we first started having a message board there were two of us. It stayed at two for a long time, though the faces changed. IIRC we had a grand total of three when we left AOL.
It wasn’t until we got out here on our own and had more forums that we started bringing on more people.
We’ve had more people, we’ve had less. It has varied with traffic and people.
It’s going to vary again. Soon. 
The size of the moderation staff is not a predictor of anything about the present or future of The Straight Dope or The Straight Dope Message Board except that it just means we need to bring more mods on board right now. That’s it.
Jenny
your humble TubaDiva
Administrator