# Where Do Moderators Come From? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 18, 2006, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-moderators-come-from/364988 "2006-07-18T11:00:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2006, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-moderators-come-from/364988/1 "2006-07-18T11:00:52Z")
I see a name of a moderator in the GQ I’ve never seen before. How often do the moderators change? Do they serve a term, or do they serve for life, like Supreme Court justices? I can only recall ONE instance when Uncle Cecil went actively looking for moderators. So, where/how do new moderators come from? How do old ones resign? (Do they post their resignation?) - Jinx 😕 ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2006, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-moderators-come-from/364988/2 "2006-07-18T11:41:14Z")
Moderators come from their mother’s womb, just like everyone else. Or are you still at the cabbage plants and stork stage? OK, seriously, we’ve found that when we advertise that we’re looking for moderators, we get flooded with applications from people who are totally unsuited. It just makes more work. So, when a moderator feels the need to resign or slow down, we lookaround to see whom we might draft. There’s no fixed term, people serve for as long as they like and as long as Management is happy with what they’re doing. Usually there is some sort of announcement when a new mod comes into play or when a mod turns back into an ordinary human bean, but such announcements are not usually made with a lot of fanfare and foo-farah. A simple post in the appropriate forum is typical. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2006, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-moderators-come-from/364988/3 "2006-07-18T15:56:05Z")
Don’t they get time off for good behaviour? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2006, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-moderators-come-from/364988/4 "2006-07-18T16:03:13Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Don’t they get time off for good behaviour? 🙂 Theoretically. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2006, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-moderators-come-from/364988/5 "2006-07-18T17:09:25Z")
When a mommy and a daddy system operator love each other very much . . . Seriously, people come to us and become staffers in various ways. Sometimes people feel that they would like to give back to the community and they request an application; what comes out of that is so compelling that when we have an appropriate vacancy we put them in it. Mostly this is what happens. In a few cases people have come to the board and shown such aptitude that they are asked to join the staff. These situations are rare but they have happened. Not everyone who hears the call of service is appropriate for the situation but we do try to accommodate worthy applicants when they show up. Not being accepted to the staff is in no way a negative reflection of character, smarts, or worth. It takes a rare and special person to be an effective moderator for this community and they must not only interact well with the Teeming Millions but also work closely and effectively with the rest of the folks already on board. Moderators do a lot of mostly thankless work for not much compensation outside of the glow of having made a tiny corner of cyberspace just a little bit better. Oh, you get a coffee mug too. It comes in handy when your alcohol consumption goes up and you’re tired of slugging it straight out of the bottle. We do not make “cattle call” type announcements when there is a vacancy. The few times we have tried this we were swamped with applications from people who were well intentioned but had not the temperment nor the necessary skills to be effective moderators. Turning them down was painful on all sides. We won’t do that again. You may request an application at any time. The only way to get one is through an email to me, [TubaDiva@aol.com](mailto:TubaDiva@aol.com). ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-moderators-come-from/364988/6 "2006-07-19T02:52:23Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Don’t they get time off for good behaviour? 🙂 Have you seen any Mods demonstrating good behavior? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-moderators-come-from/364988/7 "2006-07-19T04:14:10Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > I see a name of a moderator in the GQ I’ve never seen before. Who would that be? **xash, Rico, DrMatrix,** and **samclem** have all been GQ mods for quite some time. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-moderators-come-from/364988/8 "2006-07-19T15:43:30Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > You may request an application at any time. The only way to get one is through an email to me, [TubaDiva@aol.com](mailto:TubaDiva@aol.com). “Where do you see yourself in the next 500 posts?..” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-moderators-come-from/364988/9 "2006-07-19T15:59:57Z")
Shame on you all, nobody’s posted [the definitive answer](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=55501) yet? ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-moderators-come-from/364988/10 "2006-07-19T17:30:51Z")
That’s our story and we’re sticking to it. ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-moderators-come-from/364988/11 "2006-07-19T18:27:21Z")
Moderators have a mommy _and_ a daddy? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-moderators-come-from/364988/12 "2006-07-19T18:41:14Z")
Lynn, however, was sprung from Zeus’s head, fully armoured. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-moderators-come-from/364988/13 "2006-07-19T21:58:01Z")
> [@rayh](#): > > Moderators have a mommy _and_ a daddy? :eek: What, Uncle Cecil reproduces asexually now? I think I need my ignorance fought on this one! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-moderators-come-from/364988/14 "2006-07-19T22:06:59Z")
Snips, and snails, and puppy dog tails… ? ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-moderators-come-from/364988/15 "2006-07-19T22:11:58Z")
> [@fluiddruid](#): > > Snips, and snails, and puppy dog tails… ? But Professor Utonium accidentally added an extra ingredient to the concoction - **Chemical X**. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-moderators-come-from/364988/16 "2006-07-19T22:17:00Z")
> [@fluiddruid](#): > > Snips, and snails, and puppy dog tails… ? But Professor Utonium accidentally added an extra ingredient to the concoction - **Chemical X**. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-moderators-come-from/364988/17 "2006-07-19T22:19:21Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > Lynn, however, was sprung from Zeus’s head, fully armoured. But who cracked him one with an axe? ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-moderators-come-from/364988/18 "2006-07-19T22:57:58Z")
Moderators come from the land of Mod-dor, forged in the fires of Mount Dope, to hold dominion over the boards… ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-moderators-come-from/364988/19 "2006-07-19T23:28:53Z")
> [@Monstre](#): > > Moderators come from the land of Mod-dor, forged in the fires of Mount Dope, to hold dominion over the boards… ``` Two Mods for the Elven-kings under MPSIMS, Four for the Dwarf-lords in their Cafe Society, Three for Mortal Men doomed to the Pit, One for the Dark Lord on her ATMB In the Land of SDMB where the Shadows lie. One Lynn to rule them all, One Lynn to find them, One Lynn to bring them all and in the darkness bind them In the Land of SDMB where the Shadows lie. ``` ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-moderators-come-from/364988/20 "2006-07-20T01:03:56Z")
> [@kushiel](#): > > What, Uncle Cecil reproduces asexually now? I think I need my ignorance fought on this one! 😃 Remember this exchange? > [@](#): > > CSM: Asexual reproduction? I wonder who thought of that. > SPC: Your mother, Sergeant Major? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-moderators-come-from/364988.md?page=2)