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There has been a growing disconnect between long-time (usually high-rep) users and newer users. New users feel that the old timers are gruff and unfriendly. Long time users feel that the new users haven't put enough effort into solving their own problems before turning to Server Fault and that it's watering down the site. Obviously these are generalities and ...

Thank you all for your support and encouragement. I separately received an email from Stack Exchange telling me I won the election, and in part it says: "Take it easy—there's no rush, and you don’t need to jump in and wreak havoc on your first day." So I'm looking forward to wreaking havoc tomorrow.

Comments (I started this write-up before the election started thinking we'd just get the usual boring election questions, but then things got rancorous, so this is partly my take on the State of ServerFault and partly answers to the questions.) Overall, SF is working - questions get asked and answered, bad ones get downvoted and closed. There's a core of ...

Congratulations to @Ward and @yagmoth555 have fun! Thanks to @HBruijn and @EEAA for your moderation (in all senses).

I didn't intend that comment as a "cheap shot" - there's only so much you can say in the space of a comment. A little bit of background might help here: along with most of the people on my team, I spend a fair bit of time doing support work - helping folks who are trying to learn to use these sites when they get stuck. When such people post questions on ...

What have you personally done to make Server Fault a more enjoyable place for professional system administrators? I answer questions, and when I have a question I can't easily answer myself or something useful to share with the community, I ask questions. This is one of the most important things there is to do. I also review a lot, and vote a good bit. ...

I know AndrewB already referred to Iain's theory, but I thought it was worth spelling it out: Iain said a couple times that all the discussion about moderation style and intent didn't matter because when it came to the election, people would come in and just vote for the candidates with the highest reputation. And sure enough... To be clear: I think N00b ...

Haha, wow. HopelessN00b making the cut and Ward not is a double upset compared to the meta voting. Did not see that coming at all. Thanks to everyone who participated. We'll get you in one of these days, Ward. :) Interesting observations... Voting participation has continued the two year trend in increased activity, despite SF's overall activity ...

I'd like to drag an elephant into this room (I'm sorry in advance), and see what people think now that some time has passed. Perhaps the amount of exposition is too much, and the subject aged. But I can't help but feel like it will color this years election whether we bring it up or not. We had an election last year that ended with some parting and drama. ...

I am Falcon! Here are my answers! I also still stand by my answers last year. We had an election last year that ended with some parting and drama. And I can't help but think of Ryan Ries` comment: "I don't know why anyone would want to be a moderator, now." Let's be honest here, things went wrong after the last election. Communication was a major ...

What have you personally done to make Server Fault a more enjoyable place for professional system administrators? The same things I would as a moderator :) Answering and cleaning up relevant questions and I'd continue to move or delete off-topic questions and answers. I'd like to think I already set a good example there. There is a lot of discussion ...

What have you personally done to make Server Fault a more enjoyable place for professional system administrators? Mainly answering questions, a lot of voting and a bit of reviewing. I believe that asking good questions and providing good answers is the single most important thing to do on Serverfault. There is a lot of discussion about the quality of ...

Congrats Sven, sorry Ward, and... well, I'll let Kent Brockman say the rest. I will try not to screw it up too badly, too quickly.

I think I speak for all my fellow fresh meat when I say: bring it on.

Ward's responses to the moderator candidate questions: Do you feel there are any issues with the relative amount and types of participation on ServerFault of long-term, high-rep users compared to newer, lower-rep users? If so, what would you try to do as a moderator to address these issues? I think it's unfortunate that many long-term, high-rep ...

Do you agree with the statement "ServerFault needs professional-quality questions, not just questions from professionals"? What does the word "professional" mean to you, within the context of the phrase, "professional-quality questions"? Do you believe that in addition to professional-quality questions, ServerFault also needs professional-quality answers ...

EEAA reporting in... We had an election last year that ended with some parting and drama. And I can't help but think of Ryan Ries` comment: "I don't know why anyone would want to be a moderator, now." Let's be honest here, things went wrong after the last election. Communication was a major issue, and there were some divisive opinions on what should ...

I am normally a person of mild temperament. I normally don't call people on their bullshit or make waves unless it's something fairly serious. An election is a serious business, and it's perhaps the most appropriate place for these statements to be made. Additionally, I don't really see anything wrong with either of those two comments. Of course I'm biased ...

Server Fault moderators are occasionally greeted by the wretched underbelly of the internet - this includes your usual villains (spammers), but also occasionally less malicious types. How would you deal with each of the following cases: A new user who is posting many off-topic questions (good quality, just not on-topic) A new user who is posting many ...

Of the active mods*: 3 Mods are in UTC-5, some tend to roll into work a bit later than others, but we're all most active in the 1300-2200Z range. 1 Mod in UTC+10, that mod get's up too damn early, so most active 2100-0600Z. We're notably lacking in 0800-1400Z area, which is daytime for most in GMT, or UTC+1, or near there. The first of the UTC-5 mods to ...

Note: I personally have found Server Fault to be a very friendly site, but am fully aware that this is not necessarily the experience of others. There is a lot of discussion about the quality of questions on SF; this is a topic that comes up regularly in meta. In fact, meta sometimes feels like the same two questions over and over again: "Our site is ...

The number of active users has dropped nearly monthly since Server Fault started: Server Fault has developed a reputation across the network of being full of BOFHs who yell at people asking dumb questions. (That's not my experience, by the way.) Reading the nominations, I see a lot of burnout and frustration that stems from a steady stream of questions ...

Server Fault has long held itself to be "a site for professionals" - our FAQ specifically calls this out: Server Fault is for Information Technology Professionals needing expert answers related to managing computer systems in a professional capacity. How do you define "in a professional capacity" in the context of this site? What minimum standards of ...

As shown by the other questions, discussions in the comms room, and the reason why one of the current moderators is resigning, the mood of the site is in flux and some people seem to be unsure/uncomfortable about where the site is going. As a moderator, your actions can have a lot of influence in the "mood" of the site and where the community is going. In ...

I am standing down. The Server Fault that we have today is not the one I was passionate about.

It is a feature. Upvote is approval. No vote neutral. Downvote is disapproval. This gives an overall sense of how the Server Fault community and the wider Stack Exchange users feel about a particular candidate.

Most of the moderator candidates are participants in chat. I find that chat is actually the place on the site that holds the most value to me. I've started (been tricked into?!) a side consulting gig there. It is a place where meaningful discussions happen, as opposed to the main site, which I now feel holds little value to me short of a place to keep ...

Here is a set of general questions, gathered as very common questions asked every election. As mentioned in the instructions, the first two questions are guaranteed to show up in the Q&A, while the others are if there aren't enough questions (or, if you like one enough, you may split it off as a separate answer for review within the community's 8). How ...

I still believe the consensus here: Inactive mods on SF - Or are they? I see the same 2-3 moderators all day long on SF. Granted that's my timezone and perspective, but it's the only perspective I can speak from. The link above that Pauska asked shows that it really hasn't changed over the years. 2 moderators were appointed back in 2009 and are rarely ...

What have you personally done to make Server Fault a more enjoyable place for professional system administrators? By ensuring I'm active in all aspects of the side and contributing what I can to the site (voting, asking questions, answering questions) I help make Server Fault a better place by setting some examples of content that is welcome on the site. ...