I have been wondering lately~ how do you become a SDMB moderator? While I am not interested in becoming one, I am curious as to see, if someone was interested, how this position is filled. Once you put up a certain number of posts, do you become eligible or is there a main Straight Dope office somewhere where staff is hired?? I am aware that Cecil’s coumn is part of the Chicago Reader, so is this where the headquarters exists (If one exists)? Thanks.
The easy guess is that the transaction of a considerable amount of chocolate was involved.
However, I suspect that the real reason was because at least one of them have access to a very large breeding pool of hamsters, gerbils, and guinea pigs. Considering the number of hamsters that must be involved in powering the server (one ain’t gonna cut it, since the wheel would be unattended for considerable lengths of time), I suspect that the duty of raising and feeding these animals are spread out amongst the moderators.
I’m guessing that another moderator may have access to a considerable amount of pet food. Perhaps he or she works for a distributor.
Yet another may have access to a labor pool that is willing to clean up what happens when the animals have processed all that food.
So you see, the moderators were chosen primarily for their connections to resources that would have facilitated the smooth operation of the SDMB server…not that they had other qualities that would have been suitable for their positions.
That last line should have read: “…while not lacking the other qualities that would have made them suitable for their positions.”
That’s what I get for trying to type and talk on the phone at the same time. Sheesh.
Sexual favors, or so I’ve heard.
Enjoy.
Individual members don’t change into moderators, only populations of members do.
I thought you had to be a member of the Illuminati.
Don’t you?
Sex as “favors”?? No way! We have sex because we enjoy it ourselves. If you’re interested in becoming a SDMB moderator, post some intelligent, funny stuff on the board so we can learn more about you. (Tip: Don’t screw up your posts like Atreyu did there.) (…although, ironically, Atreyu would have been able to fix that if he were a moderator). Then ask Tubadiva for a staff application. I’ll leave this thread here for now, but it probably more appropriately belongs in the “About This Message Board” forum. - Jill
[pout]
So I guess that means my chances of ever becoming a moderator are all blown to hell.
[/pout]
And hey, it’s easy to look perfect when you’ve got an edit button. For the rest of us peons, “Submit Reply” is forever.
That was exactly what I was thinking when I saw what happened.
This doesn’t mean I’m calling for non-Mods to have the ability to edit their posts. That would cause the boards to become even more fractally weird than they already are.
::maddly scribbling away::
Intelligent?
Funny?
Damn, I knew there’d be a catch.
I’m still curious~Would someone please tell me if there is a main Straight Dope headquarters building somewhere (Chicago?) ?? Thanks.
Which explains why my invitation probably WASN’T “lost in the mail” like UncleBeer told me.
The only photo of HQ that I wave was taken after a particularly energetic flame fest in the Pit.
Actually, this ground floor view confirms that the Reader’s reputation is built upon a great Thai restaurant. (Or, at least, the restaurant provides a great foundation.)
I knew this sounded familiar!
[[And hey, it’s easy to look perfect when you’ve got an edit button. For the rest of us peons, “Submit Reply” is forever.]]
Heh. Why do you think I do it? I’m impulsive and love to have a safety net. :: if only there wasn’t that telltale “edited by JillGat” at the bottom ::
As for a “headquarters,” Cecil writes for the Chicago Reader. The CR is the big boss of this site. Ed Zotti is kind of the head administrator and the rest of us live all over the country. Somebody around has a picture we took of Cecil’s office at the Chicago Reader. It’s worth seeing, if you haven’t.
Oh, and Fenris? You never completed the series. We’re still eagerly waiting to hear:
How did Alphagene become so bitter?
How was slythe mysteriously transformed into Czarcasm? Was it blue kryptonite?
Why did Dex first come to Philadelphia?
And of course, although both Tuba and Lynn figure prominently in the other tales, we have yet to hear of their own origins.
Think Botticelli’s Birth of Venus but with the shell replaced with one of those chocolate scallop shells they sell at the tourist traps on Cape Cod.