I do have an idea of how the community could elect Trust Level Four users.
Why Would This Be A Good Idea?
Well, tl4s are the foundations of many discourse communities, and as such, should be found and elected by the users, who know that they do and why they should be promoted. As well, some forums do not elect tl4s at all, leaving the community without “user-moderation.” Implementing a system in which the community could elect trust level 4 users would solve multiple problems. As well, there has been a hint that a voting system for tl4 users may be implemented in the future.
A Hint From The Discourse Staff That This May Be Coming In The Future
Why Wouldn’t This Be A Good Idea?
Perhaps the forum admins/moderators do not want any tl4s, and the election ruins that. Then, in their admin controls, perhaps they would be able to turn elections on and off, saving their time and sanity when it comes to preventing their election. [1]
My Idea On The Process
My idea would be relatively simple but still allow the community to vote on their next tl4
- Every so often [2], Discobot would send out a Personal Message (PM) To everyone who has been active recently. [3] The PM would contain a simple message and a poll. [4] Also, there must be preparation, as there must be reasoning in their bio (a special paragraph separated from the UI just for that purpose [5]
- The poll would be active for a week [6], and in the allotted time, each user with access to the poll would be able to vote for one of the given candidates. If a regular/moderator (tl4, admin, etc.) recommended user is removed from the election, all the users who voted for them would get another notification.
- After the 7 given days, each person who voted would get another PM displaying the winner of the election. [7] The new trust level four user would be given a special one congratulating them, but also giving them the option to reject the position. If they do, the position would be given to the 2nd-place winner, then if they reject, the third. If the third-place winner rejects the position, then no Leader will be elected in that poll. [8]
On The Topic Of Off-Topic And Unfriendly Competition
Users might compete for the status, which is not what the purpose of the election. This is why a few features would have to be added;
- If a tl4 is flagged for bad moderation too many times, it will alert the admins and they will decide to keep or get rid of the tl4 [9].
- If you flag players for no reason too many times, you are automatically disqualified from the next election, discouraging popularity contests.
- admins [10] and moderators can always reverse the promotion if they are not worthy, if they are online, which is also seen in point 1.
Finalities
That is my ideas and reasoning on why and how I think the election should go. If there are any conflicting arguments, please let me know.
All existing forums would not have this enabled. However, all forums to be created would have this enabled by default, and a pop-up would appear to the admins of that forum that would ask if they would like to disable the feature. A similar pop-up would appear for admins on existing forums asking if they would like to enable the feature. ↩︎
The default would be 2 months, but this could be changed to a minimum of 2 weeks and a maximum of 2 years. As well, admins and moderators could run a one-time election, in case they were unsure who to choose and wanted the community’s voice. ↩︎
It would not be sent to new or basic users (tl0 or tl1) because they do not have enough experience in the community yet. It would be sent to all members (tl2 users) who have visited the forum in the past 30 days, regulars (tl3 users) who have visited in the past 60 days (though this wouldn’t be an issue unless locked in place), and leaders (tl4 users) who have visited in the past 100 days. ↩︎
Only regulars would be included in the poll, the only exception being if another tl4 or admin recommends them. If someone becomes a regular during the poll, they would not be included, but if someone is demoted from regular status, they would be removed from the poll. ↩︎
The reasoning bio UI is only available when the tl4 election setting is turned on, but the data will be saved if switched off then back on again. ↩︎
7 Days ↩︎
In the case of a tie, Discobot will choose a random user and they will get the position, the same process if they reject (more on that soon). ↩︎
Unless the admins want to hand-pick a user who they think should have won the election either because they do not deem the winner worthy or it was rejected too many times, which is already possible. ↩︎
Their Status, I Mean ↩︎
They can turn of the setting completely ↩︎