Source
r/DebateAChristian•
missing_7

[META] Who wants to be a mod?

We are growing fairly steadily and are looking to offer more to the community. To do that, we will need help. So, we are looking to recruit a few mods from this subreddit.

Your immediate priority would be monitoring the threads, handling reports, and the spam queue. This would be a probationary position of sorts with promotion to full moderator status a possibility.

So, if you are interested, let us know in the comments. It would be helpful if you could tell us why you want to be a mod, the number one change, if any, you would like to see made, and a ball park figure on how many hours you could contribute per day or per week, whichever is easier for you to estimate.

Main things we'll be looking at:

  • Your level of contribution here

  • How you act in other subreddits

  • Whether or not we've had disciplinary problems with you in the past

Posted May 28, 2014, 4:23 PM UTC

1074
GaslightProphetChristian, Protestant•

With over 15.5k comment karma, and a dazzling smile, I believe I am well qualified for a position in modship. I try to be respectful, but sometimes get frustrated, and then apologize and try to be respectful again. Contribute lots here, and love the idea of having a forum where people of vastly different beliefs can come together and temper their ideas. Am ussually on and off reddit throughout the day.

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rparkmAtheist, Ex-Catholic•

I can't comment on the dazzling smile, but I can say that I think u/GaslightProphet would be a great addition to the mod team. All my encounters with him have been very respectful and informative. Like u/Zyracksis, he's a wealth of information about Calvinism.

There's a few others I would recommend as well, but I'll wait to see if they volunteer first.

6
GaslightProphetChristian, Protestant•

If I'm going to be totally honest the smile is pretty subpar and I'm more of a neo-Calvanist charismatic wanna-be, but I appreciate the kind words :)

4
rparkmAtheist, Ex-Catholic•

Dude... you're in a job interview, it's okay to embellish a little... now shut up and show off that stupid smile :}

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GaslightProphetChristian, Protestant•

grins

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yesandifthenRoman Catholic•

I'd be interested! I'm also a moderator on r/Improv.

I like helping out with communities I am involved with and I think this one is one of the good ones. I don't have any big changes at this point.

I have an office job, so I can check in from time to time throughout the day.

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SsurebreCMODAgnostic Atheist•

I knew I forgot to post something.

Just to add, there are multiple openings. We offer very competitive pay - we pay 10% over other subs. We have profit sharing and you get a 3% raise every year!

There is also a bonus and, depending on your status, you can become green with a big [M] right next to your name. More importantly, the power to remove content. Only downside is the fallout from using this power.

Being a Christian or an atheist is not required, it's more important that you consider yourself Enforcer Of The Sub Rules^TM.

Many will enter, fewer will win.

Good luck all!

5
Bliss86Atheist, Secular Humanist•

As long as I get my yearly bacardi-cola at the yearly meeting I waive my pay ;)

^^^wouldn't ^^^a ^^^meeting ^^^be ^^^a ^^^blast? ^^^^can ^^^^we ^^^^make ^^^^that ^^^^atheist ^^^^only? ^^^^more ^^^^for ^^^^us..

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agoatforavillageAtheist, Ex-Christian•

we pay 10% over other subs. We have profit sharing and you get a 3% raise every year!

Serious question: Is that a joke, as in 10% of 0 is 0, or do mods actually get paid?

1
SsurebreCAgnostic Atheist•

It's not a joke. We definitely pay 10% over other subs. It's not my fault other subs pay $0 but my claim still stands. Mods get paid 110% of $0.

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

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missing_7OPPurgatorial Universalist•

^^It's ^^a ^^joke

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ZyracksisCalvinist•

do mods actually get paid

3
mynunameChristian, Ex-Atheist•

I would love to be a mod, I could probably put in 3-4 hours a week. I would like to see people be more respectful of each other here, even if they don't agree.

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gabowerAtheist•

I would like to see people be more respectful of each other here, even if they don't agree.

Do you differentiate respecting someone's belief and respect for a person?

For example, what if I were to claim that Christianity is childish? Would you consider that a personal attack?

1
mynunameChristian, Ex-Atheist•

I think you can say that Christianity is wrong, incorrect, historically inaccurate, based upon poor arguments, destructive to society, bad for education, etc. In that case you are stating your disapproval of the religion, without insulting the people who follow that religion.

Calling Christianity childish, stupid, moronic, etc. in inherently an insult on its followers. By using that phrase, you are obviously meaning it as an insult, rather than a debate point.

That is my opinion.

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gabowerAtheist•

Calling Christianity childish, stupid, moronic, etc. in inherently an insult on its followers.

  • Would you delete the comment and warn a user if they claimed that "I believe Christianity is childish because it is profoundly credulous... adults are expected to make responsible and informed decisions based on reality rather than fantasy"? (and oceans of Christians become offended)

  • Would you delete the comment and warn a user if they claimed that "Christianity is barbaric because it promotes the remorseless killing of homosexuals (Lev 20:13) and I don't believe that even animals should be killed without remorse"? (and oceans of Christians become offended)

  • Would you delete the comment and warn the user if a Christian expressed their bible and claimed that most homosexuals are abominations and are evil and sinful (Lev 20:13)? (and oceans of homosexuals become offended)

That is my opinion.

You are seeking to delete comments and ban users based on your opinion.

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mynunameChristian, Ex-Atheist•

Would you delete the comment and warn a user if they claimed that "I believe Christianity is childish because it is profoundly credulous... adults are expected to make responsible and informed decisions based on reality rather than fantasy"? (and oceans of Christians become offended)

I think this comment is pretty ill-worded. You could say the same thing without throwing in the term "childish" or "adults are expected to . . . ". I would probably give you a warning, and ask you to rephrase it. I don't think I would delete it.

Would you delete the comment and warn a user if they claimed that "Christianity is barbaric because it promotes the remorseless killing of homosexuals (Lev 20:13) and I don't believe that even animals should be killed without remorse"?

I don't have any problem with this comment. For some reason, I don't think barbaric is a very harsh word. I see it as more like the word uncivilized.

Would you delete the comment and warn the user if a Christian expressed their bible and claimed that most homosexuals are abominations and are evil and sinful (Lev 20:13)? (and oceans of homosexuals become offended)

Since whether or not homosexuality is evil/sinful is the point of the debate, I don't think I would take issue with that post, as long as the post was on topic, and not flagrantly insulting. I do not think Christians claiming homosexuality is evil or sinful is flagrantly insulting in and of itself. However, if they started berating homosexuals, like calling them stupid, childish, moronic, etc. I would consider it a base insult.

You are seeking to delete comments and ban users based on your opinion.

Well, everyone in the position to make these decisions is using their opinion. I would definitely say I am not 'seeking' to delete any comments or ban anyone. I just want a healthy respectful debate.

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Righteous_DudeConditional Immortality; non-Calvinist•

I don't know if they're interested, and I haven't seen them participate here, but you might invite these users: u/FrankFusion, u/Aceofspades25, and u/US_Hiker.

They are each long-time redditors with the experience of being mods in r/Christianity. FrankFusion is a mod in r/Reformed as well. US_Hiker is not a Christian, from what I recall.

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Aceofspades25•

Thanks for the mention :)

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Righteous_DudeConditional Immortality; non-Calvinist•

Have you volunteered to be a mod here, or do you plan to?

1
Aceofspades25•

I hardly post here. I don't think I'd be active enough to be of much help.

2
LemonBombAtheist, Ex-Christian•

Not sure if this is the right place to suggest this, but if there are a few more mods, would the moderation become a little more strict? Not sure exactly what I'm even suggesting, but it seems like there is not as much constructive conversation going on as there could be here. I could be be wrong, but I feel like a lot of what I see here is people posting questions that boil down to "Why do you Christians believe such stupid stuff?" and then a bunch of atheists jump in to explain why Christians are so stupid. That's obviously an over exaggeration, I just don't see the draw for Christians to put in their two cents and I'm not sure how this could be changed.

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yesandifthenRoman Catholic•

Would it be too much to have a rule that if the topic is addressed "To Christians" that top level comments from anyone else are removed?

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missing_7OPPurgatorial Universalist•

We are already adding that rule. The new rules will show up on the side bar soon.

6
gabowerAtheist•

This rule seems ludicrous because often interesting and "prickly" questions get no attention from Christians, so ex-Christians and people with experience to share chip-in just and have a discussion or a debate nevertheless.

Also, how are you going to determine who is a Christian and who is not, if the users have no flair?

Perhaps you will just be encouraging people to delete their flair because they want to use a debate sub to debate interesting topics.

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SsurebreCAgnostic Atheist•

There are certain types of people who take the flair that is the opposite of their views and post as if they have those views but misrepresent them to cast people in those views in a negative light.

1
LemonBombAtheist, Ex-Christian•

Maybe that's a good idea, I don't know. I just know that I wouldn't be attracted to this sub if I was a Christian. When I have actual questions about Christianity, I don't come here for answers. Maybe it's just that Christians have the burden of proof to contend with an atheists can just say 'you can't prove x, y, and z'.

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holyphuckIgnostic•

The rule is on the sidebar now :)

3
mynunameChristian, Ex-Atheist•

This, a thousand times over.

2
kyleclementsAgnostic Atheist•

That sounds like a terrible rule, because the top comment, even if made by a non-christian, could be brilliant, and worth keeping. Why should a non-Christian have their comment removed just because many others find it worthy of an up-vote?

A better rule would be one that allows for more mod discretion. "Top comments may be removed if off-topic or trollish" would be a much better rule.

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holyphuckIgnostic•

People have a right to target their discussions. It will not apply to all topics, only topics that specify a particular group. See the sidebar for the verbiage.

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flyonawallChurlish Atheist•

So how do you know who is "Christian" and gives the "correct Christian reply"?

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flyonawallChurlish Atheist•

I have to agree, it is a terrible rule. There is no way to know who is actually Christian anyway. Plenty of atheists know more about Christianity than a lot of Christians do.

2
redroguetech•

Christians could submit their own debates. Indeed, I'm surprised it doesn't happen often, considering the variety of beliefs.

I saw a post along the same lines the other day, but this may be a good thing to post to r/atheism as a reminder that constructive "debate" could lead to more interaction.

2
jakistanChristian•

I would nominate u/unsubinator, u/Zosim, u/GaslightProphet, u/PadreDieselPunk, u/coffee_beagle, and u/Righteous_Dude !

:-)

3
GaslightProphetChristian, Protestant•

Hey, just saw this, thanks for nominating me :) It's kind've cool to see someone actually thinking I'm contributing well enough to the sub that they'd want to invest any amount of responsibility/authority in me.

If given authority, I will do my best not to think about abusing it too much maybe.

2
jakistanChristian•

No worries mate. I often check the previous post history of yourself and the others I mentioned because I know I'll always find quality content there! :-)

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GaslightProphetChristian, Protestant•

Awesome! Glad I can help. I give the credit to my pastors -- check out their stuff under resources at www.restorationchurchdc.com

1
wolffmlAtheist, Ex-Christian•

I'd volunteer, although I spend more time on the DebateReligion sub. Let me know if you need me. Cheers.

2
redroguetech•

I could help out. Ball park, 2 hours a day.

  • How you act in other subreddits

I'm an ass on r/atheism, but different rules....

edit: Oh yea...

It would be helpful if you could tell us why you want to be a mod,

To help.

the number one change, if any, you would like to see made,

Reminding people of the rule (set):

Source any claims that you make... for anything significant provide a citation. Before you post, make sure that whatever you're saying adds to discussion in a meaningful way.

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Bliss86Atheist, Secular Humanist•

Apparently as an atheist with +841 in this subreddit I can express my views and criticism in a coherent manner. I'm regularlishy (1-5 hours/day) scanning the posts in all three debate-reddits and would like to be part of this mod-team.

My number one change I would like to see is removing all top-level answers by atheists or respectively all non-relevant questionee. .

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diamondeyes18Roman Catholic•

I would very much like to be a mod.

2
DCM88Calvinist•

I'm fairly new, but I spend a decent amount of time here.

10+ hours a week

Let me know if I can help.

2
NoSheDidntSayThat•

Can I suggest someone who doesn't debate here much?

I would be interested, but genuinely don't want the capability to remove posts in the case that it's someone I am specifically debating, or is ideologically opposed to me.

2
mgoblu3Christian, Catholic•

I'd like to be a mod.

I spend a fair amount of time browsing here and chiming in when I can, especially if a thread is lightly trodden and nobody has responded. I at least read through almost every thread.

I'm a college guy at a big public university (probably easy to guess which one) so I'm a little younger than the median Reddit user but think it gives me some unique outlooks. I'm +210 karma in this, used to be more active but was settling into a new internship for the last month, but I'm back now :P Still pretty much read through every thread.

As a mod I'd make it a point to keep etiquette levels high. There's a lot of great debate here, but all it takes is one bad comment that draws a lot of attention away from that. Respect is the goal, we're all friends here right??

I also once baked 30 minute brownies in 20 minutes without divine intervention (at least I think so) so that's gotta count for something

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gabowerAtheist•

Respect is the goal

How do you define respect?

Do you think there is a difference between respecting a person and respecting their religious beliefs?

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mgoblu3Christian, Catholic•

Do you think there is a difference between respecting a person and respecting their religious beliefs?

There is a difference. For the latter part, maybe not respect as in admire their beliefs (as is the dictionary definition) but in the more colloquial usage of avoiding ad hominem and polite disagreement (along with cited reasons, of course).

I guess I just see it as outside of this, we could just be random guys who could have a great conversation cheering on our favorite sports team at the bar or something. But online religious debates can get pretty far off than that. If we realize we're talking to actual people and not just screen names there's a lot more room for healthy debate, and learning comes as a result from that. I've learned way more from debates like that than the alternative.

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gabowerAtheist•

but in the more colloquial usage of avoiding ad hominem and polite disagreement

How do you avoid ad hominem with theists that take criticism of their beliefs as personal attacks.

I think the biggest problem is that many people are too emotionally immature to not be offended by people who disagree with them. These people tend to accuse people of personally attacking them and claim persecution whenever their opinions are not being encouraged.

For example: I think that Christianity is childish. If you, or someone else, thinks this is an unfair claim, then why don't you ask me to substantiate my claim and I will present an articulate justification. Similarly, I think that Islamic Female Genital Mutilation is barbaric. If you think that claim is unfair, then challenge it within a debate!

If we realize we're talking to actual people and not just screen names there's a lot more room for healthy debate

Do you often forget this?

How about this: I reject your claim that people need to compromise their beliefs to make them more palatable to people who may disagree... and we all learn to be adults and appreciate that other people have opinions that are different to ours? How about you speak freely and I speak freely and you learn not to take differences of opinion as a personal attack.

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SsurebreCMODAgnostic Atheist•

  1. personal attacks (ex: you're stupid) is not allowed

  2. attacking beliefs (ex: your religion is stupid) is not allowed without evidence (ex: resurrection is stupid because X, Y, and Z).

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mgoblu3Christian, Catholic•

How do you avoid ad hominem with theists that take criticism of their beliefs as personal attacks.

That's not ad hominem, that's someone who needs to learn to take criticism, assuming the tone of the criticism is appropriate.

For example: I think that Christianity is childish.

Which is totally fine, I'm making the distinction between thinking the belief is childish and thinking the person with the belief is childish. One is appropriate, the other insulting.

Do you often forget this?

Uhh... no?

How about this: I reject your claim that people need to compromise their beliefs to make them more palatable to people who may disagree... and we all learn to be adults and appreciate that other people have opinions that are different to ours? How about you speak freely and I speak freely and you learn not to take differences of opinion as a personal attack.

I'm a little confused, are you saying that is my claim? Because my claim is absolutely not to compromise views. I agree with the second part, we should appreciate other views and speak freely about them but there's good ways and bad ways to go about it, and there are a lot of people here who are very good at having detailed discussions and debates.

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swimbikerunrunChristian•

Would this be needed during the day? Night? Weekend?

1
missing_7OPPurgatorial Universalist•

Good question. I would say day/night coverage is largely irrelevant at this point (nothing is really urgent and can usually wait). As long as you can contribute throughout the day/several hours per week, you're good. But if we did need more coverage anywhere, it would be the weekend.

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Hilikus1980Agnostic Atheist•

I'll do it if you need someone. I have experience from other boards. This is the only sub I go to, but mostly lurk. I am on close to every day (evenings and weekends). I like to think I'm pretty even keeled.

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
kyleclementsAgnostic Atheist•

I'd be interested in being promoted to modship.

I'm a mod of my own sub, r/ArtistMaterials, but it's fairly dead over there, so I don't think that experience counts for anything.

My Karma Breakdown:

...........................link.....comments

atheism..................50..........1913

DebateAnAtheist........0............291

DebateAChristian.......0............285

I wouldn't make any changes aside or really do much aside from go through the spam queue, and delete any comments that are a flagrant violation of the rules and are dripping with trollyness.

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ijipopIgnostic•

Sweet more mods!

I'm pretty much a lurker, so that means I won't get butthurt over other people's comments C:

I'd love to be able to assist.

This community has been awesome so far and I'd love to keep it that way. I can put in ~2 hours a day for whatever reasons.

The main change I wish would occur, even though I doubt the mods would be able to fix it, would be that once a person starts getting downvoted for a few comments, whenever he posts again, it will be downvoted no matter what it says.

1
gabowerAtheist•

whenever he posts again, it will be downvoted no matter what it says.

Like some sort of punishment or disincentive to contribute?

1
SsurebreCMODAgnostic Atheist•

would be that once a person starts getting downvoted for a few comments, whenever he posts again, it will be downvoted no matter what it says.

Yes this will never, ever happen.

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

1