New Mod Monday

October 1, 2012 11:55 AM

It's New Mod Monday! (actually they'll filter in over the next two weeks, but anyway ...semantics!)

After an exhaustive search and post on Jobs, we got around 80 applicants for the part-timer slots. We had a tough time narrowing the prospects down to the top 20 or so, then looked at where people lived and what kind of time they had available and in the end the best combos of time/location/experience ended up picking LobsterMitten and goodnewsfortheinsane.

One is based in the US, the other in the EU, and will provide sporadic drop-in coverage for the site to give taz a break and weekend breaks for cortex/jessamyn, and whenever anyone goes on vacation. They likely won't be visible as mods for another couple weeks as they ease into the occasional slots. They're both pretty great and I think will fit in well, so this should be a pretty minimal change.

Thanks to everyone that applied, it was really tough to whittle down the list to the best options, there were over a dozen people we really wanted to have on board for each slot. It was a good experience to use Jobs as we heard from loads of people we wouldn't have known about otherwise so it's likely we'll use the feature in the future for similar projects. Thanks again, all.

posted by mathowie to MetaFilter-Related at 11:55 AM (208 comments total)

Yay new mods! Yay more time off for existing mods! Congrats to the whole team, old and new!
posted by Phire at 12:00 PM on October 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

Congrats, new mods!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:01 PM on October 1, 2012

Congrats! That is super awesome.
posted by bilabial at 12:02 PM on October 1, 2012

Wait...I'm insane.... This is GREAT news!
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 12:02 PM on October 1, 2012 [6 favorites]

I just want to tell you both good luck. We're all counting on you.
posted by Rock Steady at 12:03 PM on October 1, 2012 [32 favorites]

I approve.
posted by Meta Filter at 12:04 PM on October 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Thanks, truly, for every single person who took the time to apply.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 12:04 PM on October 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

these choices are good and you should feel good
posted by elizardbits at 12:05 PM on October 1, 2012 [34 favorites]

(seriously, congratulations to both of you.)
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 12:05 PM on October 1, 2012

Also please post the videos (or at least a gifset) of the humiliating initiation rituals to which they were subjected.
posted by elizardbits at 12:05 PM on October 1, 2012 [7 favorites]

To quote the Gin Blossoms, Congratulations, I'm Sorry.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 12:06 PM on October 1, 2012 [13 favorites]

€Woot! and $Woot!
posted by lampshade at 12:06 PM on October 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Congratulations, and my condolences.
posted by SMPA at 12:06 PM on October 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

HOORAY
posted by The Whelk at 12:07 PM on October 1, 2012

Congrats and Welcome. And Good Luck.
posted by benito.strauss at 12:10 PM on October 1, 2012

Yay congrats!
posted by insectosaurus at 12:12 PM on October 1, 2012

congrats!
posted by juv3nal at 12:14 PM on October 1, 2012

w00t! I am excited, perhaps foolishly so. Thanks for the vote of confidence.
posted by LobsterMitten at 12:14 PM on October 1, 2012 [4 favorites]

You couldn't ask for two better people to totally ruin.
posted by carsonb at 12:14 PM on October 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Congrats, new mods! And may I also add my apologies for the amount of grief this position entails.
posted by blurker at 12:16 PM on October 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yay!
posted by gauche at 12:17 PM on October 1, 2012

Congrats! That's awesome!
posted by colfax at 12:17 PM on October 1, 2012

LobsterMitten is milled from a solid bar of class.
posted by Burhanistan at 12:17 PM on October 1, 2012 [8 favorites]

Welcome! I'm super excited to have y'all.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 12:18 PM on October 1, 2012

Excellent choices! Good luck, gnfti and LM! :)
posted by zarq at 12:19 PM on October 1, 2012

Nice. Will we get interviews on an upcoming podcast? They're both people I'd like to hear from anyway, so this seems like a good excuse.
posted by shelleycat at 12:19 PM on October 1, 2012 [4 favorites]

I am looking forward to good mittens for insane lobsters. I'm sure they will help.
posted by ardgedee at 12:21 PM on October 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

(And we totally need an EU meetup to celebrate. I'm going to be in Amsterdam in a couple of weekends and all)
posted by shelleycat at 12:21 PM on October 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

I am positive we'll get some podcast action going with them both at some point, yeah.
posted by cortex (staff) at 12:21 PM on October 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yays all around! I'm so glad there were so many good people to choose from, and that some of the best folks are joining the part-timer crew!
posted by ldthomps at 12:21 PM on October 1, 2012

Excellent choices!

Congratulations LobsterMitten and goodnewsfortheinsane!
posted by jamjam at 12:21 PM on October 1, 2012

I am also excited! It's a cornucopia of excitement!

So yes, thanks Matt and the other mods for the trust you've placed in me. I'll do my best to live up to it.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 12:21 PM on October 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

Welcome to the new mods! Congratulations and hurray!
posted by Elsa at 12:25 PM on October 1, 2012

I just want to tell you both, good luck. We're all counting on you.
posted by atrazine at 12:26 PM on October 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Mathowie: Oh, and if you new folks could take a quick look at the next thread down, that'd be great. Me and cortex and Jessamyn are taking restless_nomad and taz out for a cup of coffee. See you later!
posted by Rock Steady at 12:27 PM on October 1, 2012

Congrats, and remember: He who mods least mods best! (not modist)
posted by Justinian at 12:29 PM on October 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Excellent choices, congratulations, and thank you mathowie for NOT opening with a Professor Farnsworth "GOOD NEWS EVERYBODY"...
posted by oneswellfoop at 12:31 PM on October 1, 2012

Better you both than me!

Oh, wait. That should read: Congratulations!
posted by cooker girl at 12:32 PM on October 1, 2012

But, I had gotten a new tie and underwear and shaved my legs and everything!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:35 PM on October 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Big hugs to LobsterMitten and goodnewsfortheinsane and to everyone who applied, because you guys are pretty fantastic.

I also sort of think these are rather wonderfully eponysterical moderator user names. :)
posted by taz (staff) at 12:43 PM on October 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

The really important question is, do they get the "staff" tags by their handles in MeTa? And if so, all the time, or just when they're speaking ex cathedra?
posted by asterix at 12:44 PM on October 1, 2012

Hurray!
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:44 PM on October 1, 2012

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Welcome and congrats you two!
posted by msali at 12:45 PM on October 1, 2012

Congratulations good luck, and thanks for taking up the challenge of keeping Metafilter running well I am in awe of the courage. I was relieved to not find my name in this post -- and I didn't even apply!
posted by MCMikeNamara at 12:46 PM on October 1, 2012

so how many stock options did ya'll offer them ?
posted by k5.user at 12:47 PM on October 1, 2012

Hey, nice! Congratulations to you both, LobsterMitten and goodnewsfortheinsane.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:49 PM on October 1, 2012

MAY YOU MOD IN INTERESTING TIMES
posted by Greg Nog at 12:49 PM on October 1, 2012 [7 favorites]

MAY YOU MOD IN INTERESTING TIMES

This made me literally flinch.
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 12:50 PM on October 1, 2012 [35 favorites]

I wish we'd gotten the chance to guess through riddles and clues, but that's a lot of work. So I understand.
posted by discopolo at 12:52 PM on October 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

I am still in favour of an annual King Of The Bean-style moderation situation wherein one lucky mefite would be selected as Mod For A Day, be it for good or for evil.

Of course, at the end of that day the Bean Mod would be sacrificed to the Horned God as is right and good and proper.

We should get moving on this ASAP as it is seasonally appropriate.
posted by elizardbits at 12:53 PM on October 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

The really important question is, do they get the "staff" tags by their handles in MeTa? And if so, all the time, or just when they're speaking ex cathedra?

We hadn't actually talked about that! It's a good question, I guess we'll think through what makes the most sense.
posted by cortex (staff) at 12:55 PM on October 1, 2012

This is a major inflection point on the graph of total moderators.

It's a staff inflection.
posted by Afroblanco at 12:55 PM on October 1, 2012 [7 favorites]

Oh crap. goodnews lives so close to me I will never make a chance next time they need mods.

Better polish up those emigration plans...
posted by DreamerFi at 12:55 PM on October 1, 2012

I just want to tell you both, good luck. We're all counting on you.

Thanks, truly, for every single person who took the time to apply.

And those of us who didn't get what ? Nothing ? What are we ? Chopped liver ?

Grats you two!
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 12:56 PM on October 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

These are some great choices. Good consideration team mod.
posted by boo_radley at 12:57 PM on October 1, 2012

> We hadn't actually talked about that! It's a good question, I guess we'll think through what makes the most sense.

Tiny Jr. Deputy badges rendered in HTML 5.
posted by boo_radley at 12:58 PM on October 1, 2012

I am still in favour of an annual King Of The Bean-style moderation situation wherein one lucky mefite would be selected as Mod For A Day, be it for good or for evil.

"And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!"--elizardbits, Mod for a Day.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 12:58 PM on October 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

that's pretty much what would happen yes.
posted by The Whelk at 12:59 PM on October 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

And those of us who didn't get what ? Nothing ? What are we ? Chopped liver ?

I am going to neither confirm nor deny conversations along the lines of "I love [mefite] even more for having the good sense not to apply."
posted by restless_nomad (staff) at 1:00 PM on October 1, 2012 [22 favorites]

I just checked my old memails and crossreferenced them with my old emails, and I can't find any evidence that I've ever gotten into any shit with either of these two. I approve.
posted by item at 1:00 PM on October 1, 2012

They likely won't be visible as mods for another couple weeks

But I'm ready to start criticizing their modding choices right now.
posted by Egg Shen at 1:01 PM on October 1, 2012 [9 favorites]

I am going to neither confirm nor deny conversations along the lines of "I love [mefite] even more for having the good sense not to apply."

You're welcome.
posted by The Whelk at 1:02 PM on October 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

One is based in the US, the other in the EU, and will provide sporadic drop-in coverage for the site to give taz a break and weekend breaks for cortex/jessamyn, and whenever anyone goes on vacation.

You just took 'mod abuse' to a whole new level. This is straight out mod exploitation.

posted by daniel_charms at 1:04 PM on October 1, 2012

and then we wind up throwing elizardbits into a volcano and feeling slightly bad about the whole thing.
posted by boo_radley at 1:04 PM on October 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

I am overcome with bitter jealousy that you were picked and I wasn't...


...okay, I'm over it! Congratulations! Happy moderating!
posted by xingcat at 1:06 PM on October 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Please, the word is "modsploitation".
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:06 PM on October 1, 2012

FIRE CANNOT KILL THE DRAGON
posted by elizardbits at 1:06 PM on October 1, 2012 [12 favorites]

and then we wind up throwing elizardbits into a volcano and feeling slightly bad about the whole thing.

Perfectly innocent mistake, mishearing her drink request and deciding she'd make a good volcano sacrifice. Could have happened to anyone, really.
posted by zarq at 1:08 PM on October 1, 2012

Please, the word is "modsploitation".

Just talkin' about Mods.
posted by The Whelk at 1:09 PM on October 1, 2012

I'd like to take this opportunity to loudly complain that goodnewsfortheinsane deleted my previous comment because he is the chief operator of a vast conspiracy against me!

On preview, my browser crashed and the comment never went through.
posted by shakespeherian at 1:09 PM on October 1, 2012

No, gnfti's just the figurehead, don't be ridiculous.
posted by elizardbits at 1:14 PM on October 1, 2012

This is not my first vast international conspiracy rodeo.
posted by elizardbits at 1:14 PM on October 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

ex-nay on the iracy-nay
posted by The Whelk at 1:15 PM on October 1, 2012

You are bad at Pig Latin.
posted by shakespeherian at 1:15 PM on October 1, 2012 [11 favorites]

I'd like to take this opportunity to loudly complain that goodnewsfortheinsane deleted my previous comment because he is the chief operator of a vast conspiracy against me!

And so, it begins.....

There is a hole in your mind.

What do you want?

No one here is exactly what he appears.

Nothing's the same any more.

Commander Mathowie is being reassigned.

Why don't you eliminate the entire Reddit homeworld while you're at it?

I see a great hand reaching out of the site....

Who are you?

President Shakesperherian has signed a decree today declaring martial law.

These orders have forced us to declare independence.

Weapons supplies...

...unless you people get off your encounter-suited butts and do something!

You are the one who was.

If you go to Meta'Talk, you will die.

Why are you here? Do you have anything worth living for?

I think of my beautiful site in flames...

.... like giants in the playground ....

Now get the hell out of our server!

We are here to place President Shakespeherian under arrest....
posted by zarq at 1:16 PM on October 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

Back to the mod temp agency for me. I'll probably get a gig at metafilter.ru or something. /sigh
posted by special-k at 1:16 PM on October 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Dude, we don't talk about the vast conspiracy against shakespeherian in the open.

Disclaimer: There is no vast conspiracy against shakespeherian.
posted by daniel_charms at 1:16 PM on October 1, 2012

Congrats from Santa Fe!
posted by rtha at 1:17 PM on October 1, 2012

Godspeed you two.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 1:18 PM on October 1, 2012

/reading thread from the bottom up:

I love elizardbits but I'm pretty sure Madam Pele would spit her out and ask for straight gin.
posted by rtha at 1:19 PM on October 1, 2012 [4 favorites]

You are bad at Pig Latin.

I love that while the rest of us get all twitchy when something is bad pig latin, or spelled wrong, or isn't, in fact, a word in any language known to man, The Whelk just goes and uses it anyway, and is charming and funny while doing it.
posted by ocherdraco at 1:21 PM on October 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

You made good choices! I have enjoyed reading posts and comments from the aforementioned entities.

WELCOME NEW MOD ENTITIES
posted by Mister_A at 1:22 PM on October 1, 2012

The Whelk's problem is that he has an iPad and only one giant thumb.
posted by shakespeherian at 1:22 PM on October 1, 2012

FIRE CANNOT KILL THE DRAGON

Seriously, when are you making that post? I have EVEN MORE fanart now!
posted by the man of twists and turns at 1:24 PM on October 1, 2012

OH MY GOD I TOTALLY FORGOT
posted by elizardbits at 1:26 PM on October 1, 2012

Congrats new mods!
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 1:27 PM on October 1, 2012

And so, it begins.....

On that subject, anyone working up a Michael O'Hare obit thread? If I weren't pulling 12.5 hour shifts this week, I'd have been trying to craft one myself today.
posted by radwolf76 at 1:27 PM on October 1, 2012

Congratulations, LobsterMitten and goodnewsfortheinsane!
posted by Doktor Zed at 1:29 PM on October 1, 2012

Yay LobsterMitten and goodnewsfortheinsane!

And, while this should not have been a deciding factor, I'm happy that your usernames begin with letters other than m, j, c, r, t, v, or p. MeFi: two steps closer to conquering the alphabet!
posted by beryllium at 1:30 PM on October 1, 2012

On that subject, anyone working up a Michael O'Hare obit thread?

In Valen's Name.
posted by zarq at 1:35 PM on October 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

No, gnfti's just the figurehead, don't be ridiculous.
posted by elizardbits

Okay, now I understand that you've just been taking dictation from your cat all along, but there's no need to transcribe her sneezes as well.

>gnfti<
posted by benito.strauss at 1:35 PM on October 1, 2012

THIS IS EXCELLENT NEWS!! FOR THE QUIDNUNC KID!!
posted by strangely stunted trees at 1:37 PM on October 1, 2012

> Please, the word is "modsploitation"

Don't modsplain at me.
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:39 PM on October 1, 2012 [5 favorites]

Congrats and good luck to the new mods!
posted by Space Kitty at 1:40 PM on October 1, 2012

Well, this seems pretty nice, but it is going to make the Favorite Mod contest just that much harder next year.
Congratulations goodnewsfortheinsane and LobsterMittens!
posted by SLC Mom at 1:44 PM on October 1, 2012

My house is not a house where cats are allowed in any format other than lol or video.
posted by elizardbits at 1:46 PM on October 1, 2012

Yay! Modspeed to LobsterMitten and goodnewsfortheinsane. May your deletions be seamless and your banhammer never blister.
posted by Sidhedevil at 1:56 PM on October 1, 2012

Two great choices! Congrats to all who applied; in my book* you're ALL winners!

*However, in reality's book, there are two winners and a bunch of losers.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 2:00 PM on October 1, 2012

Yay! New mods! Good luck and have fun!
posted by Snarl Furillo at 2:00 PM on October 1, 2012

Are there other new features planned?
posted by the man of twists and turns at 2:15 PM on October 1, 2012

Oh man metafilter just hit puberty and is getting all kinds of strange new features
posted by The Whelk at 2:16 PM on October 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

There is a vast conspiracy against shakespeherian.

Wait, correction...we meant there is NO vast conspiracy. Handy having this edit window now.
posted by the Cabal at 2:16 PM on October 1, 2012

Are there other new features planned?

What I really want to know is, are there any modsploitation films planned?
posted by Ghidorah at 2:22 PM on October 1, 2012

Am I seriously the only person that saw this and immediately thought "who the hell is semantics?"

[editing cuz i can, apparently]
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 2:26 PM on October 1, 2012

And here I thought seniority would rule the day.
posted by litlnemo at 2:26 PM on October 1, 2012

Yeah this is fantastic news. Congrats to one and all. And I used the edit feature to add that, so.
posted by Jofus at 2:29 PM on October 1, 2012

Congrats!
posted by davidjmcgee at 2:33 PM on October 1, 2012

Congrats! Remember, when in doubt, spin.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 2:37 PM on October 1, 2012

Best possible reaction to mod appointments: "Hey cool, I know both of those names but don't really know who they are so they're probably nice."
posted by Potomac Avenue at 2:38 PM on October 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

Are there other new features planned?

At four o'clock this afternoon, we'll be lunching comment-via-twitter support. At six, everyone will get an actual living pony.
posted by cortex (staff) at 2:41 PM on October 1, 2012 [12 favorites]

Congrats new mods!
posted by lazaruslong at 2:41 PM on October 1, 2012

Ooh, twitter lunch!
posted by shakespeherian at 2:42 PM on October 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

For seriouses, though, looking back I cannot believe there was a time when it was basically jessamyn and cortex and somehow they did not murder us all
posted by shakespeherian at 2:53 PM on October 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

i am confused is the new mod insane and therefor this job is good news or is this mod not insane and just good for insane people

CONGRATS! I look forward to politely disagreeing with the decision to delete my comment calling [EDIT WINDOW] a pig fucker.
posted by klangklangston at 2:58 PM on October 1, 2012

That reminds me I have been meaning to ask goodnewsfortheinsane for a long time if he was aware of:

The result, titled Good News for Modern Man: The New Testament in Today's English Version, was released in 1966.
posted by bukvich at 2:58 PM on October 1, 2012

Oh hey, these are good choices! I had my fingers crossed that if I were passed up, the task would at least go to capable hands. Really pleased with the choices here, congrats to the two of you.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 3:04 PM on October 1, 2012

Congratulations, LM and gnfti!
posted by h00py at 3:06 PM on October 1, 2012

Good choices! Best wishes for stress-free modding!
posted by amyms at 3:14 PM on October 1, 2012

Excellent choices!
posted by Quietgal at 3:17 PM on October 1, 2012

At six, everyone will get an actual living pony.

Good heavens does my anti-pony cautionary tale telling fall on deaf ears always?! PONIES ARE JERKS.

I think that both LobsterMitten and goodnewsfortheinsane are fine upstanding people and I hope that they don't begin to hate us all with passion in two days.
posted by winna at 3:18 PM on October 1, 2012

Congrats!
posted by drezdn at 3:28 PM on October 1, 2012

Congratulations to you both!
posted by deborah at 3:30 PM on October 1, 2012

I have to say - I am truly happy about both of these choices. Marvelous! Congrats to both of you, and hooray!
posted by stoneweaver at 3:31 PM on October 1, 2012

YAY NEW MODS!

Please try not to break the ones we have.
posted by DarlingBri at 3:40 PM on October 1, 2012

Man, two new (awesome) mods, and an edit window all in the same day?!
posted by Scientist at 3:45 PM on October 1, 2012

Excellent choices. G'luck new mods!
posted by Elmore at 3:45 PM on October 1, 2012

Congratulations, new mods!
posted by Kevin Street at 3:51 PM on October 1, 2012

The Wikipedia editor makes me inwardly scream, else I'd do this myself, but perhaps this now needs a little editing/updating.

Also, congratulations new mods.
posted by Wordshore at 3:53 PM on October 1, 2012

Two for whom I have the highest respect. Excellent choice.

Of course, a lobster with mittens would indeed be good news for the insane.
posted by Rumple at 3:58 PM on October 1, 2012 [4 favorites]

"... a lobster with mittens ..."

I'm a bit behind with US politics; is that the GOP presidential ticket for this year?
posted by Wordshore at 4:01 PM on October 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Omigosh, congratulations to you both and thanks in advance for putting up with us!
posted by kimberussell at 4:05 PM on October 1, 2012

Congrats to the new mods!
posted by thylacinthine at 4:07 PM on October 1, 2012

It looks like the FAQ entry will need to be updated. Congratulations to the new moderators!
posted by RichardP at 4:20 PM on October 1, 2012

It does seem slightly cruel that their day one induction included Matt saying "...oh by the way, we've also unexpectedly introduced the ability for users to time travel in the comments they write. Well, have fun moderating those!"
posted by Wordshore at 4:28 PM on October 1, 2012

They don't officially start for a week or so, we figured we could let people get some of the edit window stuff out of their system first and then these mods would never know editing without an edit window....
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 4:31 PM on October 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

Yay!
posted by trip and a half at 4:35 PM on October 1, 2012

This is where I say: "I told you so."

Yay!!!!!!!!!

[Edited to add more exclamation points.]
posted by anotherpanacea at 4:58 PM on October 1, 2012

I had my fingers crossed that if I were passed up, the task would at least go to capable hands. Really pleased with the choices here, congrats to the two of you.

Marisa is a bigger person than I, as I am still struggling with the single emo tear of modly rejection, though taking comfort in the thought that I was always in the wrong time zone (right?). However, even though I am processing my feelings and keeping my chin up-- no, really, I'll be fine-- I totally agree with the sentiment. Lobster Mitten is a perfect choice, and I know goodnewsfortheinsane less well but I'm sure he'll be fantastic too. Congrats to both, and may the odds be ever in your favour.
posted by jokeefe at 5:02 PM on October 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

Congrats to both, and may the odds be ever in your favour.

New mods have to dress like Effie Trinket while on duty just FYI
posted by The Whelk at 5:07 PM on October 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

YAY NEW MODS!

/kit zombie apocalypse
posted by clearly at 5:12 PM on October 1, 2012

Oh great, every time I see the nick LobsterMitten, I'll be craving lobster. Congrats, both!
posted by ersatz at 5:21 PM on October 1, 2012

Congratulations to two of my favorite folks with two of my favorite usernames.
posted by Skygazer at 5:22 PM on October 1, 2012

Cool!
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 5:23 PM on October 1, 2012

Congrats to LobsterMitten and goodnewsfortheinsane!

At some companies I've seen, noone is hired directly into Sales; new sales reps are hired into the Marketing department. They aren't added to the sales department until they've made their first actual Sale. The Marketing department does not pay well.

So I presume the new mods won't get their official STAFF badge until they've exercised their skills in combat; maybe not until they've done their first post deletion.

STAFF badges are for closers!
posted by ceribus peribus at 5:54 PM on October 1, 2012

Good choices, they have my approval, because I know you were waiting for that! :)
posted by HuronBob at 6:07 PM on October 1, 2012

Man, two new (awesome) mods, and an edit window all in the same day?!

And we recorded a podcast. We're taking the rest of the year off to recuperate.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:12 PM on October 1, 2012 [6 favorites]

I keenly await the touch of their modly appendages.
posted by flabdablet at 6:15 PM on October 1, 2012

As a rocker, I disapprove of mods.
posted by Decani at 6:16 PM on October 1, 2012

Great choices and, as always, probably those that weren't really on the radar of most people as potential moderators. Those that seek power should never be granted it etc...
posted by dg at 6:20 PM on October 1, 2012

Congrats, new mod people!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:34 PM on October 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

A podcast? So soon? Yay!
posted by ocherdraco at 7:01 PM on October 1, 2012

I know, right? We're really, really gonna try and crank them out monthly from now on.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:04 PM on October 1, 2012 [4 favorites]

We have discovered that having a calendar helps this somewhat. It's just a day of wonders here!
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:06 PM on October 1, 2012 [7 favorites]

Congratulations, new mods!
posted by box at 7:07 PM on October 1, 2012

Yay, stellar choices - two people I love. Delightful. Plus, it is great all the current mods will get some relief.
posted by madamjujujive at 8:15 PM on October 1, 2012

Oh cool, a philosopher mod!

Good job to both hirers and hirees!
posted by painquale at 8:24 PM on October 1, 2012

If you use Greasemonkey and the Mefi Navigator script, you can edit it yourself in a text editor so that the new mods have admin tags. (It's pretty easy, I don't code GM scripts and I figured it out.) It shows both the standard Staff tags that you get here on the site, and the script-specific Admin tag.
posted by IndigoRain at 8:38 PM on October 1, 2012

Congrats and let me take this comment to thank all the mods..... Much appreciation and hugs your way....
posted by pearlybob at 8:47 PM on October 1, 2012

Fine choices, both. Congratulations to you both, and I'm sure the sites will be better for your participation.

but seriously, not even a "thank you for your interest" email?
posted by Curious Artificer at 8:50 PM on October 1, 2012

Yay! Congratulations!
posted by harriet vane at 8:54 PM on October 1, 2012

but seriously, not even a "thank you for your interest" email?

We sent them! Did you not get one?
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:56 PM on October 1, 2012

I didn't! I was heartbroken!

Though, just to be fair, I didn't apply.
posted by box at 8:59 PM on October 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

I, for one....

Welcome new mods! Here's wishing you a grarless induction period with no MeTa call outs.
posted by arcticseal at 9:08 PM on October 1, 2012

Hooray new mods! Congrats on your selection and good luck with your new duties. May you mod in uninteresting times.
posted by immlass at 9:21 PM on October 1, 2012

Congrats you two!

Greg Nog: MAY YOU MOD IN INTERESTING TIMES

restless_nomad: This made me literally flinch.

A suitable local alteration to the wish of "may you marry and have children," often bestowed upon one's own unwed, child-free offspring.


Man, two new (awesome) mods, and an edit window all in the same day?!

And we recorded a podcast. We're taking the rest of the year off to recuperate.

What jerks. "Hey LobsterMitten and goodnewsfortheinsane, you won't have to be mods during the first days of the New Editable Era (NEE)*! Oh, but we'll be on break from mid-October until the end of the year. I hope that's not a problem. What, the elections? Already? I thought those happened last year. Oh well, you two will do fine, we're sure!"

* as compared to the Pre-Editable Era, or PEE. Yes, I am being quite juvenile tonight.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:33 PM on October 1, 2012

It is true, we are jerks!
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:35 PM on October 1, 2012

From the job post, I thought we were just getting one mod, but it was wise of Matt to also get a spare just in case we break someone with all of the new changes.
posted by ceribus peribus at 9:42 PM on October 1, 2012 [3 favorites]

I've got to say, it was a good day.
posted by daniel_charms at 9:54 PM on October 1, 2012

Welcome to mod-ship, y'all! I look forward to defending your impartial, well-considered actions to the ravening hordes of ingrates :D
posted by batmonkey at 10:21 PM on October 1, 2012

Excellent choices. Too bad about the edit window.
posted by Kwine at 10:24 PM on October 1, 2012

Congratulations to you both!
posted by SuzySmith at 10:28 PM on October 1, 2012

Welcome LM and gnfti! And congrats to restless_nomad and taz as they are deposed as the new mods/junior mods. I can't wait to hear, "taz wouldn't have deleted my post" or "the calm and experienced restless_nomad would have made a better call."
posted by a humble nudibranch at 11:00 PM on October 1, 2012 [2 favorites]

And the rest of us aren't mods.

Or rockers.

We're 'mockers'.
posted by mazola at 11:06 PM on October 1, 2012 [1 favorite]

but seriously, not even a "thank you for your interest" email?

For serious, if you didn't get this it's either you sent your application from an email other than the one you're checking or I goofed and missed you when I was sending them out. The latter is a very real possibility. It's just a short cheerful note, and if you were expecting one and didn't see one I'd be happy to mefimail it to you, just lemme know.
posted by cortex (staff) at 11:11 PM on October 1, 2012

I didn't get a note thanking me for not applying. THE GALL!
posted by klangklangston at 11:25 PM on October 1, 2012

We sent a card, klang! We passed it around the office and everyone signed it; I drew a cute obscene doodle under my signature, and we also included a gift certificate from Bed, Bath and Beyond.
posted by taz (staff) at 11:41 PM on October 1, 2012 [10 favorites]

Congrats to the new mods! And congrats to the existing mods for being able to walk away from The Blue occasionally without worry or the guilts.

That new edit button ROCKS! /edit
posted by TangerineGurl at 11:47 PM on October 1, 2012

Great choices! Good luck guys, I am sure you are going to do a brilliant job :)
posted by Megami at 12:28 AM on October 2, 2012

Another slap in the face to that vital English-knobhead-in-China MeFite demographic, I see. Grr.
posted by Abiezer at 1:18 AM on October 2, 2012

Welcome on board! Did you watch the training video?
posted by plinth at 3:17 AM on October 2, 2012

Hey, finally a mod within driving distance from me!!
posted by Pendragon at 5:26 AM on October 2, 2012

And because this was titled New Mod Monday, are there going to be new mods rolled out every Monday? I look forward to the day that the majority of the site has mod-status, and all the mods take turns covering the site for 5-10 minutes at a time.
posted by filthy light thief at 5:37 AM on October 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

woohoo! Congrats, LobsterMitten & goodnewsfortheinsane! May the masses, er, us, treat you well!
posted by smirkette at 7:10 AM on October 2, 2012

Congratulations!
posted by royalsong at 7:19 AM on October 2, 2012

filthy light thief: "And because this was titled New Mod Monday, are there going to be new mods rolled out every Monday? I look forward to the day that the majority of the site has mod-status, and all the mods take turns covering the site for 5-10 minutes at a time."

Or we could go the Sweden Twitter route. One randomly selected member gets mod powers each week. :)
posted by zarq at 7:29 AM on October 2, 2012 [1 favorite]

Or we could go the Sweden Twitter route. One randomly selected member gets mod powers each week. :)

Until one of them deletes all posts and bans everyone.
posted by daniel_charms at 7:32 AM on October 2, 2012

Just to let everyone know, my work email knows better than I do that I shouldn't be a moderator. It marked cortex's short cheerful note as spam.
posted by Curious Artificer at 7:51 AM on October 2, 2012

Excellent choice for mods. Congrats gnfti & LM.
posted by peacay at 9:30 AM on October 2, 2012

Congratulations to the new mods!

LobsterMitten I recognize as a voice of wisdom, sanity and fun, which bodes very well for modding. I hope we'll still hear plenty of LM's own thoughts in our conversations.

I don't really know goodnewsfortheinsane, perhaps we don't hang out in the same threads. But on looking over his activity, anyone who has Tolkien quotes ready to hand and takes the trouble to inject some sense of proportion and humor into an Assange thread, has to be a good guy.
posted by philipy at 10:04 AM on October 2, 2012

I love these mod decisions! Patient, smart, thoughtful, funny. Metafilter, you rock.

And thanks Matt for running MetaFilter in a way that values mods. I am always impressed by how you invest money back into MetaFilter instead of grabbing all the money and running. I read, somewhere, your remarks about running a tech business in a post-Steve Jobs world, and how you have decided to be there for family instead of make ALL OF THE MONEY and I have so much respect for you. Thanks sincerely for this great website and these new mods and the edit window!
posted by onlyconnect at 9:33 PM on October 2, 2012 [2 favorites]

Congratulations!
posted by homunculus at 12:41 AM on October 3, 2012

yey!
posted by leotrotsky at 8:02 AM on October 3, 2012

I gotta say I'm a little disappointed that no-one has graced this thread with appropriate lyrics for "Just Another New-Mod Monday", a la The Bangles.
posted by benito.strauss at 8:07 AM on October 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

"Just Another New-Mod Monday", a la The Bangles

Two a.m. already
I was just in the middle of a thread
I just dissed another user
Sayin' how I thought he ought to be dead
Then someone popped in
And chided me in text that was <small>
I got real mad
'Cause I didn't know this admin at all

It's just another new-mod Monday
I wish it was Sunday
'Cause that's my funday
My act-a-troll-and-run day
It's just another new-mod Monday

I really feel I must complain
This new mod's not staying in line
(Never mind that if their name
Were cortex I'd think they were fine)
'Cause it makes me feel bad
When a n00b tells me [Hey, tone it down there.]
I think they should respect
How long I've been posting round here

All of the nights
Why did the new mod have to pick last night
To scold me
Doesn't it matter
That I have to say things,
I have feelings to shaaaaare
He tells me in his new-mod voice
[C'mon user, cut it out with the noise]
Time it goes so fast
When you're on a comment run...
posted by ocherdraco at 1:51 PM on October 3, 2012 [11 favorites]

I would watch that music video.
posted by arcticseal at 1:52 PM on October 3, 2012

I would pay money for that music video.
posted by benito.strauss at 2:51 PM on October 3, 2012

goodnewsfortheinsane + lobstermitten = best futurama episode evar
posted by not_on_display at 3:13 PM on October 3, 2012 [5 favorites]

I am very pleased with this selection. Congrats!
posted by SpacemanStix at 3:52 PM on October 3, 2012

Groovin on yer lyrics, Weird Al ocherdraco a la The Bangles!
posted by a humble nudibranch at 10:23 PM on October 3, 2012

Perhaps you might also enjoy my previous MeFi parody song: "Best of the Web" (to the tune of "Baby Got Back").
posted by ocherdraco at 1:31 PM on October 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

I would pay money for that music video.

AHEM
posted by The Whelk at 1:41 PM on October 4, 2012

Thanks otherdraco for the literal laughs out loud, and for the record, my answer to "Perhaps you might enjoy [x] (to the tune of "Baby Got Back") is probably always "yes."
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:07 PM on October 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

WOOHOO! Congrats to new mods! Welcome aboard. I'll try not to have a flame-out in your honor any time soon.
posted by rmd1023 at 4:23 AM on October 5, 2012

On The Demand For Referees

And of course the Web, already a mine of information to dwarf, if not exactly to overshadow, the libraries of the world, is becoming the source of an enormous amount of collaborative filtering and old-fashioned refereeing, loosely connected to all the rest.

posted by the man of twists and turns at 2:18 AM on October 6, 2012

metafilter has mods?
posted by FauxScot at 7:55 PM on October 6, 2012

Congrats, LobsterMitten and goodnewsfortheinsane! And thanks to mathowie for hiring additional support for the mod team and the MeFi community in general.
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 2:04 PM on October 7, 2012

Super late pass here, but congrats to goodnewsfortheinsane and LobsterMitten!
posted by cashman at 11:09 PM on October 14, 2012

That's the last time I submit a resume written entirely in Klingon.
posted by dr_dank at 6:30 PM on October 20, 2012