JC3/Nomination

## Nomination
I've been an SO member for 4 years. I learn primarily by answering questions that I don't know the answers to, and this is what has drawn me to SO. I'd like to nominate myself for the position of community moderator.

I believe that SO's greatest strengths are...
-

- A high signal-to-noise ratio. I firmly believe that the internet as a collection of knowledge is one of mankind's greatest achievements, and nothing bothers me more than trying to tap into this knowledge base only to find large amounts of misinformation, or noise that distracts from content.
- It represents a vast, credible collection of information and an impressive community of knowledgeable users, and its success is a positive cycle that draws people in and improves the internet as a whole.
- It is community moderated. CMs are accessible, SE provides great transparency, and open, often controversial discussions can be held and are taken seriously. It is a community that promotes sharing of ideas and opinions, and I value this greatly.


I believe a community moderator should...
-

- Be accessible.
- Be open to criticism, recognizing that all opinions (even the most frustrating), come from *somewhere* and that all people feel they are valid in their own minds.
- Be fair, not basing actions on e.g. peeves or fleeting emotions, deferring to other moderators when there is a conflict of interest.
- Keep the bigger picture in mind while not forgetting that the whole is also the sum of its parts. A moderator should strive to find a way to accomplish big picture goals without invalidating and alienating individuals in the process; trying to increase an individual's understanding by maintaining transparency, honesty, and open-mindedness. At the same time, this does not mean anything goes, and a moderator must take action when it is called for.
- Represent the community at all times, even as values and philosophies organically evolve over time.

I believe I should be a moderator because...
-

- I strongly believe in and adhere to the points listed above.
- I can be patient with even the most frustrating users, and firm but gentle when the situation calls for it. I recognize that user frustration / confusion often stems from somewhere deeper, possibly systemic issues. I strive to introduce new users to community values in an open-minded way, while also recognizing that not everybody *needs* to fit into our community and *that's OK*.
- I can generally recognize the difference between genuine frustration and trolling, and have no problem stepping away when things get hairy, taking action without instigating where necessary. I stay away from personal attacks and try to steer focus to the issue at hand. I can remain friendly while taking action.
- I believe that welcoming new users into the community and introducing new users to our values is the best way to ensure ongoing success. New users are often open to suggestion, especially if they feel heard, and ultimately new generations of users must replace the old and carry on our community.
- I believe in relatively firm, but *flexible* moderation: Communities grow organically and I strive to uphold evolving community values rather than to stubbornly impose only my own values as times change. I believe SO's community moderation philosophy is one of its most valuable assets, and I take the fact that moderators are chosen to *represent* the community and *uphold its values* very seriously.
- I don't believe in wasting time using moderator powers to do what the community can do on its own. I firmly believe that the community organically makes the correct decisions in matters that it has the power to make decisions on. I believe a moderator should only exist to do the rest.
- I believe that SO should be an oasis of signal in an ocean of noise, and server as a friendly, welcoming, and most of all credible source of learning material.
- I have the time. I am a freelance programmer, and I have plenty of free time and set my own schedule. I have no issues committing an hour or more per day to moderation, and continuing the current moderators' great work by lightening the existing workload. I am fully committed to showing up to do the work every day.
- I love everything about SO, and I want to put myself in a position to help keep it going strong, and even improve it.

Some things I would like to improve are:

- I'd like to find ways to encourage disappointed new users to return to the site and become involved. Obviously, not everybody wants to be a part of this community, but I believe every user who just... moves on... is a missed opportunity.
- I'd like to find ways to make details of site behavior more readily accessible to users, and take an effort to educate users about the way things work, particularly in regard to the ever-evolving review queue system, which can be intimidating at times.

My personal SO preferences:

- I love programming, I support new programmers and I value teaching others *how* to help themselves. I think that doing so creates better programmers which I believe creates a better future (cheesy, maybe, but I genuinely believe this). This is a value that I wish to promote throughout our community.
- I like concise and descriptive questions, especially ones that can't easily be found elsewhere due to internet noise. I like questions that are specific enough to solve the problem but that also have long lasting value as a learning resource for other users.
- While not as active as answering as I once was, I am still fairly active in [tag:java] and [tag:c++].

Why I shouldn't be a moderator:
-

My greatest weakness right now is that I *know* I can do a great job, but I don't feel I have done much to *show* that I can do a great job. Sitting in The Tavern bickering with Shog9 and posting annoying animated GIFs doesn't count for much. I take this nomination very seriously. If I don't make it through, at minimum I'll learn what I can improve for the next election. So, no matter what happens, I don't lose!

TL;DR:
-

I believe in the community, and I believe in moderators as an extension of the community. I value high SNR, new users, individuals' parts in a larger whole, and accessibility and transparency. I can do this.

In real life:
-

My name really *is* Jason. I am 33 years old. I am a freelance programmer based out of NYC. I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, USA and still consider it my home. I have a background in medical robotics, computer-assisted surgery, and computational biology. I currently specialize in desktop applications, augmented reality, simulations, and embedded devices. Since moving to NYC 9 years ago, I've fallen in to working primarily with new media and tech artists doing a lot of interactivity and large-scale lighting installations. I consider my current job to be creating tools that allow artists to naturally express themselves through software without limiting their creativity.

In real life I am the leader of a few volunteer and activity groups. I tend to fall into leadership positions due to my ability to stay calm and focused under pressure, to stay accessible while getting the job done, and to gain trust and guide individuals towards common group goals without alienating individuals.

You can generally find me (and a few of the other nominees here) in [The Tavern](http://chat.meta.stackexchange.com/rooms/89/tavern-on-the-meta), so feel free to come by and chat, or just spam us with awesome animated GIFs of cats freaking out.
	I've been an SO member for 4 years. I learn primarily by answering questions that I don't know the answers to, and this is what has drawn me to SO. I'd like to nominate myself for the position of community moderator.

	I believe that SO's greatest strengths are...
	-

	- A high signal-to-noise ratio. I firmly believe that the internet as a collection of knowledge is one of mankind's greatest achievements, and nothing bothers me more than trying to tap into this knowledge base only to find large amounts of misinformation, or noise that distracts from content.
	- It represents a vast, credible collection of information and an impressive community of knowledgeable users, and its success is a positive cycle that draws people in and improves the internet as a whole.
	- It is community moderated. CMs are accessible, SE provides great transparency, and open, often controversial discussions can be held and are taken seriously. It is a community that promotes sharing of ideas and opinions, and I value this greatly.


	I believe a community moderator should...
	-

	- Be accessible.
	- Be open to criticism, recognizing that all opinions (even the most frustrating), come from somewhere and that all people feel they are valid in their own minds.
	- Be fair, not basing actions on e.g. peeves or fleeting emotions, deferring to other moderators when there is a conflict of interest.
	- Keep the bigger picture in mind while not forgetting that the whole is also the sum of its parts. A moderator should strive to find a way to accomplish big picture goals without invalidating and alienating individuals in the process; trying to increase an individual's understanding by maintaining transparency, honesty, and open-mindedness. At the same time, this does not mean anything goes, and a moderator must take action when it is called for.
	- Represent the community at all times, even as values and philosophies organically evolve over time.

	I believe I should be a moderator because...
	-

	- I strongly believe in and adhere to the points listed above.
	- I can be patient with even the most frustrating users, and firm but gentle when the situation calls for it. I recognize that user frustration / confusion often stems from somewhere deeper, possibly systemic issues. I strive to introduce new users to community values in an open-minded way, while also recognizing that not everybody needs to fit into our community and that's OK.
	- I can generally recognize the difference between genuine frustration and trolling, and have no problem stepping away when things get hairy, taking action without instigating where necessary. I stay away from personal attacks and try to steer focus to the issue at hand. I can remain friendly while taking action.
	- I believe that welcoming new users into the community and introducing new users to our values is the best way to ensure ongoing success. New users are often open to suggestion, especially if they feel heard, and ultimately new generations of users must replace the old and carry on our community.
	- I believe in relatively firm, but flexible moderation: Communities grow organically and I strive to uphold evolving community values rather than to stubbornly impose only my own values as times change. I believe SO's community moderation philosophy is one of its most valuable assets, and I take the fact that moderators are chosen to represent the community and uphold its values very seriously.
	- I don't believe in wasting time using moderator powers to do what the community can do on its own. I firmly believe that the community organically makes the correct decisions in matters that it has the power to make decisions on. I believe a moderator should only exist to do the rest.
	- I believe that SO should be an oasis of signal in an ocean of noise, and server as a friendly, welcoming, and most of all credible source of learning material.
	- I have the time. I am a freelance programmer, and I have plenty of free time and set my own schedule. I have no issues committing an hour or more per day to moderation, and continuing the current moderators' great work by lightening the existing workload. I am fully committed to showing up to do the work every day.
	- I love everything about SO, and I want to put myself in a position to help keep it going strong, and even improve it.

	Some things I would like to improve are:

	- I'd like to find ways to encourage disappointed new users to return to the site and become involved. Obviously, not everybody wants to be a part of this community, but I believe every user who just... moves on... is a missed opportunity.
	- I'd like to find ways to make details of site behavior more readily accessible to users, and take an effort to educate users about the way things work, particularly in regard to the ever-evolving review queue system, which can be intimidating at times.

	My personal SO preferences:

	- I love programming, I support new programmers and I value teaching others how to help themselves. I think that doing so creates better programmers which I believe creates a better future (cheesy, maybe, but I genuinely believe this). This is a value that I wish to promote throughout our community.
	- I like concise and descriptive questions, especially ones that can't easily be found elsewhere due to internet noise. I like questions that are specific enough to solve the problem but that also have long lasting value as a learning resource for other users.
	- While not as active as answering as I once was, I am still fairly active in [tag:java] and [tag:c++].

	Why I shouldn't be a moderator:
	-

	My greatest weakness right now is that I know I can do a great job, but I don't feel I have done much to show that I can do a great job. Sitting in The Tavern bickering with Shog9 and posting annoying animated GIFs doesn't count for much. I take this nomination very seriously. If I don't make it through, at minimum I'll learn what I can improve for the next election. So, no matter what happens, I don't lose!

	TL;DR:
	-

	I believe in the community, and I believe in moderators as an extension of the community. I value high SNR, new users, individuals' parts in a larger whole, and accessibility and transparency. I can do this.

	In real life:
	-

	My name really is Jason. I am 33 years old. I am a freelance programmer based out of NYC. I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, USA and still consider it my home. I have a background in medical robotics, computer-assisted surgery, and computational biology. I currently specialize in desktop applications, augmented reality, simulations, and embedded devices. Since moving to NYC 9 years ago, I've fallen in to working primarily with new media and tech artists doing a lot of interactivity and large-scale lighting installations. I consider my current job to be creating tools that allow artists to naturally express themselves through software without limiting their creativity.

	In real life I am the leader of a few volunteer and activity groups. I tend to fall into leadership positions due to my ability to stay calm and focused under pressure, to stay accessible while getting the job done, and to gain trust and guide individuals towards common group goals without alienating individuals.

	You can generally find me (and a few of the other nominees here) in [The Tavern](http://chat.meta.stackexchange.com/rooms/89/tavern-on-the-meta), so feel free to come by and chat, or just spam us with awesome animated GIFs of cats freaking out.