Kyle Brandt asked: I think moderators, besides fulfilling the day to to day tasks, also need to set a higher example in terms of being respectful to users more than your average user (at least, ones they don't already have a good familiarity with). Is that something you have already or done, or would be willing to do in the future if you are elected as a moderator?
ErikA answered: Absolutely. Having recently acquired my first management position at $work, I am in the midst of a very personal experiment on how important it is to lead by example.
Ben Pilbrow answered: You'll often see my comments on new people's questions/answers trying to guide them into "the Server Fault way".
pauska answered: I would probably be a little less snarky than I can be sometimes, which I admit isn't a great example for the site. You put on a different hat as a moderator.
Chris S answered: I'm certain there have been a few occurrences when I haven't lived up to my intended standards, but they're few and far between. I don't expect anyone to be perfect, but I do expect them to try at least a little.
WesleyDavid answered: I think I am respectful to people on the site. I'd rather ask others to answer that for me since I may not be the best judge of myself. I generally like to treat people well, regardless of their treatment of me. Not sure if it works out like that on the outside though. Someone poke me if I'm not what I think I am. =)
Ward answered: I don't have any problem with "being respectful." If I do magically become a mod, I hope it wouldn't mean I'd have to stop posting ponies. I already try to avoid snarky comments on bad questions, but am a bit more abusive on Chat...
Iain answered: I try to be polite at all times and have brought matters to the communities attention
pauska commented: And we love you for that mate
Ward commented: Oh, sure, bring up the fact that we all want to live up to your standards!
Chris S commented: I'm still a bit disappointed that you held back your opinion until it boiled over into a massive meta post... I think a lot of people felt blind sided by that. I want to be very clear that I agree with what you had to say and think you should have bought it up more often, we need those reminders.
Iain responded: I didn't link to that post. I understand what you are saying , I could have done it better ( and chosen a better day) but I was pushed for time and the comment from @voretaq7 was too good an opportunity to miss.
voretaq7 responded: I think that meta post got a bunch of excess negativity because of proximate events in chat the following day. I agree with the sentiment: Sometimes we blow off too much steam, and we don't want to be scaring people out of chat (or off the main site) because of it.
I have a lot of faith in us as a community: I think when topics like that are brought up on Meta we all take a serious look at them and reflect on how we should behave in the future.
In fact if I had similar misgivings about sone aspect of our community I'd probably put up a very similar post.
freiheit answered: Yes, I always try to be respectful to the other SE users, especially the ones that annoy me
voretaq7 answered: I think everyone should be setting a good example in that regard.
I'm not above telling people their ideas are dangerous/bad/The Wrong Thing, but I always try to be gentle when doing so (unless they're about to drive their entire company off a cliff.
There is a point where nice stops and "NO." begins) In particular right now when I vote to close questions I usually leave a comment explaining why it's not a good fit (and try to offer suggestions about how the asker can find their own answer). Stuff like that would definitely continue if I were a mod.
MDMarra answered: Everyone has their bad days, myself included. I've told users to read man-pages or talk to their vendor instead of providing an easy answer. That said, I've also encouraged many users to join [chat] or post on Meta Server Fault, even if I wasn't directly involved in the incident in question. I do make a conscious effort to help any new user that has helped themselves, i.e. has already read the faq and asked a good, detailed question.
