Entering edit mode
18 months ago
iraun
6.2k
Hello biocommunity!
I've been around for a while, some periods more active posting-wise and some periods less, but I've always relied on this site as a trustworthy resource when I was having trouble with a bioinformatics-related issues. Now I was wondering, is there a way to become a moderator and contribute more actively? Or are there any further ways to support the Biostars community? Without success, I looked for any similar questions. Perhaps this is something that other people, like myself, are interested in.
There is not much of a formalised process to become a mod. Periodically we 'recruit' another batch, based on users we have seen as consistently active, and that offer quality answers/guidance on a regular basis. Candidates are selected by discussion among the existing Mods/Admins so its something of a subjective process, but the main 'criteria' is simply being active and helpful on the forum - of course the candidates we select are free to refuse as well.
It is also a good idea to engage with the Biostar's slack group which is where the mods tend to hang out, though there are public channels as well.
I believe we recently promoted a few people so we aren't actively looking, but this has spurred the conversation on the slack group, so we will see what the outcome is :)
Thank you for your feedback. I was specifically searching for information regarding the process, although I understand that formalising it may be tough. I'm curious, however, whether establishing some guidelines might engage and encourage more people to participate more actively in the community.
Thanks for directing me to Biostar's Slack group; I was unaware of it. It looks like a good idea to join, even though I already spend a significant amount of my time on Slack... no harm in adding one more workspace, I guess! (:
Every once in a while, we promote a bunch of accounts based on activity, but the process is somewhat subjective. In general, we are happy to have more people on board.
And with that said, welcome to the moderator group.
Thank you! Happy to be part of it :)
This is critical bit. Lots of people start out enthusiastically but fade out in a few weeks. It takes effort/time to do the above.
Yes, I get what you mean; it's kind of like signing up for the gym - (I've never done it, but) I've heard that September and January are the busiest months of the year :)