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THE SUGGESTION: For Elections, allow the user to view a specific candidate and see things such as...

  • How many of my own questions has this candidate answered ?

  • How have I rated this candidate's responses to my questions ?

  • How many of this candidate's questions have I answered ?

  • How has this candidate rated my answers ?

  • How has this candidate participated where I have also participated (e.g., when I made a comment, did this candidate also comment ?)

Certainly there could be other things that would provide a better informed voter, but these five should be enough to start some discussion about what would be helpful and harmful for the election process.

I see two major (positive and negative) possibilities here

  • (Positive) People who contribute desirably get more support from those whom they've helped.

  • (Negative) StackExchange degenerates into a "Popularity Makes You Smart" contest.

Whatever, whatever, I want to vote, and I'm seeing User IDs whom I just don't recognize. The reputation thing on StackExchange is clearly a product of pure genius; and it certainly is a useful indicator of the person's qualifications to be a moderator.

The facts are, though, that I'm voting to promote someone to a position of authority over others including myself. In that context, a little knowledge like these five factors (and others?) would be a very desirable guide for informed voting.

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  • @Sathya saw that, and it's good stuff. My point is that, if someone wants to be a moderator, and they have really helped me with a SuperUser answer (to one of my SuperProblems) then I definitely want to say thanks with a vote. The election idea seems to be a superb way to do this.
    – User.1
    Apr 30, 2014 at 14:32
  • @Sathya Thanks for the edit on the title.
    – User.1
    Apr 30, 2014 at 14:34
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    You're not supposed to vote for the person who gave you an answer - no, no no. You're supposed to vote for the person who contributes overall - not just answers. Votes. Flags. Edits. Helpful commentary. using reputation alone as the indicator for the best Mod candidate is wrong
    – Sathyajith Bhat Mod
    Apr 30, 2014 at 14:38
  • Obviously, I am not an informed voter ! :-) Is there a forum-type discussion room or area where I can acclimate myself with respect to the full process and gain more knowledge about the election ? Do I read you properly ? It's wrong to support those who have helped me the most ? Is there a place to go Q-and-A with these sorts of questions ?
    – User.1
    Apr 30, 2014 at 14:46
  • You wouldn't vote for the candidate with the most attractive haircut in elections for your government, would you? (i.e. the candidate best performing in some metric completely irrelevant to the job)
    – Daniel Beck Mod
    Apr 30, 2014 at 16:16

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Yes, take a look at the Moderator Election Questionnaire or head over to the Election Chat Room to get a better understanding of the candidates' positions.

Additionally, as mentioned, the Moderator Candidate Statistics Tool will show you additional information on some aspects of the candidates' involvement on the site.

How you've interacted with a candidate on SU is most likely a secondary consideration behind how the candidate has interested with the community as a whole, through various statistics available above. If you have additional questions, comment on the Q&A answers or ping them in chat. It's great that you'd like to be informed on the candidates and involved in the election process!

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  • How do I use the Candidate stats tool? When I navigate to the page I get a 404
    – user201262
    Apr 30, 2014 at 17:43
  • @Moses it's up at elections.stackexchange.com/#superuser I don't know why you'd get a 404, clear your cache maybe? Apr 30, 2014 at 18:07
  • Must have been my browser. Different one is working. Thanks!
    – user201262
    Apr 30, 2014 at 18:24

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