Being a moderator is a little like being a policeman, we are not very popular sometimes until we are really needed.

I find I am overwhelmed by the shear number of threads. That's OK, our members (except for a few) are very good at helping us keep the rules intact. The judgement calls can be off now and again, but we are doing our best. Without people using the flags it would be impossible. I keep up 100% on anything posted below the Radio and Communications Forum.

I joined AAC because I like to write, and I like projects, and I even like to teach. I think my blog here is one of the better out there, when I am gone I would like to think it will live beyond me, much like Tony Roon's site and others.

Of course, I don't plan on leaving this plane anytime soon, I expect I have a lot of good years ahead of me. It is a little frustrating that a lot of projects are moving slower than I intended, but this isn't really a problem. One thing about writing, you can always pick up where you left off.

This site keeps me sane too. Without getting into details I was suffering some major clinical depression last April/May. Jim (AKA TheFox), my boy, and this site kept me going. It was a near thing. For a little while it was duty, but mostly it is fun.

I hope to get some more projects done in the near future. There are a ton of 555 articles that need writing in my head, and I've been thinking of adding new chapters in Volume VI, things like every major amplifier type made simple. When/If I do I'll probably ask people like AudioGuru and other experienced people for ideas and circuits.

I have no clue why I'm starting this thread, but hey, not everything has to have a reason. Call it a LooseWire moment.

 

Do you think it might be time to recruit additional moderators?

 

The 3 of us are quite enough for the moment. However, we don't have any reserve candidates in case something happens. I REALLY wish we won't need them, though.

 

I tend to agree with Geo on this one. We have 4 active moderators, one inactive, and the administrators leave us with the day to day chores, which is OK by me.

 

Burnout happens. I'm glad you got through the depression, wintertime/springtime is rough on many for some reason (SAD?).

Knowing you've helped others or brightened their day is a good path to vicarious happiness.

 

I think the moderators here do an excellent job.

The fact that you are both working as a moderator and as a prolific contributor earns you a ton of extra respect in my opinion Bill.

 

Burnout happens. I'm glad you got through the depression, wintertime/springtime is rough on many for some reason (SAD?).

Knowing you've helped others or brightened their day is a good path to vicarious happiness.

I have SAD. Its a real things, in my case it was brought on by family trauma during the holidays leading to the holidays being the most stressful time of my life. So since I've been conditioned that the holidays will most likely be stressful and bad I get depressed during the holidays, Fall/winter. I know others its triggered by lack of light and cabin fever. Having spend all my winters in the south where its warm, then spending a couple winters in the North I can tell you its really weird to not see the sun for months. That can play with your mind. Plus the further north you are the more dramatic the seasonal changes are.

 

I tend to agree with Geo on this one. We have 4 active moderators, one inactive, and the administrators leave us with the day to day chores, which is OK by me.

I would be happy to fill in. Been around a while. Only problem is I am a mean SOB and would probably lock almost everyone's thread.

 

Welcome to our world...

 

Thank you for your service Bill. I perceive that being a moderator invites more criticism than praise and I respect you for the job that you do, and for your technical expertise. I also admire you on a more personal level; I feel that if I knew you in the real world that you would be someone I would look up to. I'm glad that you got through your depression (or at least the bulk of it).

 

I'm glad we came to understand each other, Bill. When we were strangers to each other, there was room for misunderstanding, but we got through it after a few PM's.

Please don't consider me for a moderator. I get too emotional about the unlimited stupidity that arrives here, and then I have to take a break to avoid making (more of) an ass of myself. Besides, I have responsibilities in the non-cyber world that take me off-line for weeks at a time.

I have been enjoying winter in Florida immensely, which is the opposite of Seasonal Affective Disorder. I've been so busy that I was filing the calouses off my hands today! I get a lot of satisfaction from the work I do...and then there's the fact that I messed up a wood project so badly yesterday that I had to get a fan to blow the smoke out of the work shed. Still, I learn something almost every day, and that's what I call living well.

I'll be back when I get my work in the physical world caught up.

 

@12, You aren't moderating an old saw mill,are you.

 

Only if you call my 5 HP table saw a saw mill. Still, 5 HP, used badly, can produce a LOT of smoke. Remind me not to let the carbide cutting tips hit the case hardened screws. They never work right after you do that.

 

I think one of the reasons I was selected is I try very hard to keep it civil. The few times I cut loose I tend to go back and edit my posts. That and I used the ignore function more than once. As a moderator I don't use the twit bit, but I do it mentally sometimes. If I try to help someone and they come back with something I feel is really obnoxious or stupid (but not over the line) I just don't come back, though I might monitor the thread to keep an eye on things.

Now and then I go the extra mile because there is some aspect of a project that interests or intrigues me. You can always tell when this happens, though it has been a while.

I am not the deepest technical person on this site, but I find that almost 40 years of experience (God, has it been that long!?) seems to have a depth of its own.

Or, as I like to phrase it, I am not the sharpest pencil in the cup, just not the dullest.

 

I didn't know there was an ignore feature on this forum. How is it accessed?

 

User control panel, way down there. Edit Ignore List . Most forums have this feature, it renders the selected users posts invisible, you know they said something, but it blanks the text.

I think that is how it works on the last part, it has been long enough I do have a bit of problem remembering. Like I said, I don't use it anymore.

 

Do you think it would be easy enough to copy and paste more than a hundred from my personal ignore list to the AAC ignore list?

 

Being a moderator is quite a challenge. The moderating team here does an outstanding, thankless, job.

I did a stint at moderating in another non-electronic forum. By their nature some sections need more moderating than others. I'm sure it's the same here and that's where the regular members can assist the moderators by identifying questionable threads.

This remains the best forum I visit.

 

I don't say it enough, but I really do appreciate all you moderators' hard work. I can imagine it's a very tough job, and people often think less of you for it. That is not true for me. I have great respect for you guys who are willing to come here day after day, watching out for spammers and trolls, and eliminating them almost instantly. I'm sure it takes a lot of patience too.

For some reason I've always wanted to be a moderator. It's one of those things that I've just never been able to do. I've spotted plenty of trolls and spammers (spammers especially annoy me). I have my moments though--sometimes I'm a little cranky and lash out, and that's something I need to work on.

I know I'm still fairly new here, but if you need anyone to fill in, I'd be happy to volunteer, even for a short amount of time. I'm not sure how well I'd do on the long term--I don't have as much patience as Bill or Geo. But my goal in life is to help other people any way I can. I see AAC as a home away from home, and if there's anything I can do for you guys to lighten the load, please let me know.

Best wishes and kind regards,
Matt

 

It's delightful to see such swift response, even outside a time of need. I 'm now more assured that this site will safeguard its high quality in the future.