Ok, I think its time for me to comment now...
Wow. Very hard question right there. Uhm.
First and foremost, I'd like to say I wouldn't want to nominate anyone who has recently stepped down from admin or mod roles. Without exception I think their resignation is somewhat a loss to the community, but if they feel they need to step away from the role, then it would be disrespectful of me to try to force them back.
A lot of people would pick forum-goers that they're friendly with for such a role, but I can't really do that - the members I feel are mature enough are, pretty much universally, either too new, inactive or are already staff. There are a few that I'd say "give them a couple of months, let them know the community better, then they'd be ready".
The obvious choices that others have jumped to seem to be the "celebrities" of the forum; even assuming they have the necessary qualities, I think choosing such a member would be a bad move. Their popularity would detract from their responsibilities, sadly.
There are a few members who have become apparent to me lately in showing a lot of enthuisasm and maturity on the forums, and I would gladly suggest them, if only I didn't feel that perhaps they were too eager. The moderation role requires not only quick thought and action, but also the wisdom to sit back and consider situations more fully.
Soooooo... after all that, sadly, I have difficulty thinking of a single current member who would be as fit for the role as any of the current staff. Sorry about that.
First off, I whole-heartedly agree with you that it's not fair, and even counter-productive, to nominate the few who have stepped down recently, like Andrew and Travis. (I got that right, right? It's been a few years since I've used your first name there buddy ;p) Stepping down is stepping down, and trying to force somebody to do something they don't want to do is just unethical.
Second off, if you feel that somebody's deserving of the position, why not nominate them with a footnote? I'm sure the administration could work out some kind of trial position for them. I know from experience from working here that everyone here is laid back and flexible. Personally, I'd like to see some more structure in the forums now and some more rigid rules in the moderation sense, not necessarily the rule sense, but the way things are now and always have been, ZFGC is a pretty laid back, friendly place. (Most grammatically incorrect sentence ever)
Third off, why so harsh on "celebrities"? A lot of members who are better known have more than likely as a general rule been active for a long time on the forums and contributed a lot in some way. What's inherently wrong with somebody being well-liked and being staff at the same time? I don't see how popularity can possibly detract from responsibility. Again, if you think back to when I was an admin, aside from April Fools stuff, I got a lot of hate from members for stuff that wasn't necessarily my call. What did I do? I tried to calm them down some, but beyond that I mostly ignored them and did what I needed to do anyway. Responsibility is the most important thing, and it's not mutually exclusive with popularity.
Fourth off, too eager. I can see that as being a problem, but honestly, in the long-term it's not an issue, especially if admins are there to keep them in check. Kind of like the head-mod system, only... You know, actually being put into use.
I'd rather it not be any of the "forum celebrities" as none of them are mod material.
Care to elaborate? I've already hit this issue but I'd like to see your reasoning for why forum celebs can't be responsible.
As for nominees, if you want to get stuff done, Pyrazor is your man. Back in the day he had so many mod actions that it was ridiculous. The enitre rest of the staff couldn't keep up with him. The thing is, none of those were stupid moderations either, they were all justified.
I'd also like to think that Swiftu could make an excellent mod. The people who know the rules the best are those who try to skirt them. With some conviction for the job, Swoftu would be fantastic.
And finally, I think I'd nominate Pyro, for the same reasons as Swoftu.
I know all these people very well and I know they have the "stuff" that it takes to regulate an internet message board. It's not brain science really, but it's not horribly simple either.
Thank you for your time.
