I like the Meta Post format, I like it so much I structured an answer (only visible to 10K+) around it.
I think it's important to have everyone's answers together, as 'answers' to those questions; and then it's easy to keep all the questions and all the answers together in one post (instead of a question per post).
I'm copying and pasting my meta post from the link below:
I've decided to post the questions and my answers to those questions in an easier-to-digest-format than the chat transcript. Any editing that's been done has been done solely for formatting purposes. No content has been changed from its original meaning, and any clarifications are done solely for those that may not visit Meta often. Oh yea, and no animals have been harmed in the writing of this post.
How do you feel about losing your close votes? -- badp
I have to be very careful in what I vote to close now, losing my close votes isn't going to change that. I've invested a lot in my 'online reputation', so I want to make sure that every action I take is not only explainable, but makes sense and is logical. See my answer to this question for one such instance where people with high reputation should do things that make sense.
What's your top reason why you want to be a moderator? -- George Stocker
I want to be a moderator because I believe that my stance towards questions and answers on Stack Overflow is supported by a large majority of the active community, and I want to continue to support the community by making sure that every viable question is given a fair chance, and that questions that need to be cleaned up are cleaned up (see my reputation on Meta as supporting evidence).
Would you suspend a user who repeatedly posts replies to their questions in answers instead of comments who has been told of the proper procedure, and if so, for how long? If not, what action would you take instead, if any? -- WaiWai933
There are many steps to take before suspension:
- Replying to the user in a comment,
- privately communicating with the user, and if neither of those work,
- Finally suspending the user for the littlest amount of time possible.
- If that doesn't work, then a longer suspension.
Suspensions are a heavy stick. The one thing we don't want to do is just use heavy handed justice too soon, because that will turn off people to coming to Stack Overflow (a la what happened to usenet forums).
Do you consider yourself addicted to Stack Overflow, and in what ways (good and bad) does it impact your life? -- Adam Davis
I'm not addicted to Stack Overflow as much as I'm dedicated to making sure that this online community stays a viable resource for programmers. Since the internet began we've seen our communities erode because people didn't stand up and take care of them, and Stack Overflow is one of the first communities I've seen that bakes in that process of 'tilling the garden'. I want to till the garden and give back to the community that has given me so much.
How would you deal with a user who produced a steady stream of valuable answers, but tends to generate a large number of arguments/flags from comments? -- Shog9
We've seen that before. The best thing to do is try to get the user to change their behavior by exploiting that which they care about. It starts with the premise that everyone wants to do well. You have to find what drives them, and gently push them towards good behavior by allowing them to do what drives them, and steering them away from the part that gets them in trouble. This, of course, is if the user is really valuable to the community.
That's partly why dedication and a sense of community vision is really important for a moderator: They have to know what needs to be done before it becomes an issue.
Consider your past interactions with Jeff and Joel: Do you feel you strongly agree, agree, remain neutral, disagree, or strongly disagree with the majority of their decisions? -- Adam Davis
I find that I side more with Joel than Jeff, and anytime I've disagreed with Jeff I've laid out my arguments for why (see this Meta question for an example). I see them as two sides of the same coin, and I'm working on trying to better see Jeff's point of view on some things.
What should be done with Questions and Answers that are flagged for "low quality"? Do you think they should be treated differently? -- Bill the Lizard
First is trying to see if maybe this was an answer that was posted by an otherwise good answerer. If there's a history with this user and it's causing detriment to the community, then action may need to be taken. If it's just noise, then simply deleting the cruft from the system is the way to go.
What do you think is the most common mistake that average SO users make, and how can you help the masses of us to do better? -- Erick
We are all (myself included) way too invested in our own questions. So when others edit our questions, we react with anger when we should probably take a 'wait and see' approach. Our egos get in our ways sometimes.
What do you consider to be appropriate circumstances for merging questions? -- Shog9
The question should be merged when it's apparent to the most casual observer that two people are asking the same question, and the answers, when merged, could be equally about either.
Do you feel that you tend towards "keeping the site clean/exclusiveness" (if you see a closed question with little merit as a mod, say, you'll delete it), or "allow more than some/inclusiveness" (you tend to vote to re-open more than others, to give questions a chance)? -- Michael Petrotta
As my record shows, I try to rehabilitate bad questions (by editing them to improve them, or retagging them), and when a question can't be rehabilitated, I vote to close it. If it's blatantly off topic, I'll vote to close it and let the OP know why. In everything I do, I try to be that person that makes it better before it's just closed.
How much time do you think you'll spend moderating? -- Rebecca Chernoff
I usually spend about 10 minutes every hour just pruning things on Stack Overflow, and in the evenings I'm around frequently. Stack Overflow is mostly self-regulating, but there are occasions where I find myself tweeting to @BilltheLizard that a question needs to be closed or there's a problem user.
Instead of coffee breaks, I have Stack Overflow breaks.
Do you think the actual number of moderators is enough? -- Pierre 303
It's an ever growing community. The real question is, "Currently, are there times on Stack Overflow where problems seem to be happening more than they're fixed?" If the answer is yes, then we need more moderators.
Is there anything on SO you would like to be improved? -- Pierre 303
I'd like to see people who make bad questions better (the editors and retaggers) get something for their efforts. That's what separates Stack Overflow from Just Another Programmer forum: The ability to turn rough questions into quality questions.
Based on your observations of current SO diamond moderators and Meta.SO and thus diamond moderation policy, how long do you think it would take for you to learn the ropes and be comfortable with the diamond mod tools, and why? -- WaiWai933
I think the initial learning curve of the tools would be minutes, but the actual usage of them I think I already have since I participate heavily in community discussion. I feel like I have a good pulse on what the community wants.
PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY QUESTION: Ability to edit other people's answers - great SO feature, or greatest SO feature? -- Shog9
At first I had a selfish approach to it, because I wanted the reputation. Now I just want the person to find the best answer possible, so I've started doing things like this.
When should questions be closed and just left alone vs. when should they be closed and deleted? That is, when do you believe in deleting content? - Brad Larson
Closed when the question outlives its usefulness for new information. Deleted when it's outlived its usefulness and it has no redeeming value to someone coming in from Google.
The nice middle ground is locking a question.
Since @MichaelMrozek mentioned burnout, how can you avoid getting overwhelmed to the point that participating isn't fun anymore? And how can it be identified before it's "too late" in fellow mods? -- Rebecca Chernoff
I spend a 'natural' amount of time on Stack Overflow, in that I'm not constantly looking at new questions, but because of my work, the natural rhythm of my day allows me to spend time on Stack Overflow in intervals that don't cause burnout.
Do you think it's the role of the moderator to calm down condescending, arrangant, disdainful, or aggressive answers or comments not really helping the user the question? -- Pierre 303
The moderator is sort of a gentle guide to keeping SO on track. The theory is to do the least amount possible to keep it on track (don't 'over-moderate'). Becoming friends with people and using the friendships to effect change in their behavior is the best way to moderate. The community keeps people in line pretty well, moderators only need to step in when it gets out of hand.
How do you all feel about the edit suggestions feature? Net good? Bad? -- Michael Mrozek
It's a step in the right direction, but I think it's going to create more work for people. If we instead encouraged editing by giving it reputation rewards (much like we do for answers), then we could do this without as much work.
I'm not saying giving reputation rewards for editing is easy, but I've written about the feature I think would help.
A diamond will be attached to everything you say, including questions, answers and comments. Everything you will do will be seen under a different light. How do you feel about that? -- badp
I'm glad Moderator actions are reviewed by the community. I think it's invaluable to the long term thriving of the community. More transparency is always better. If a moderator can't logically articulate why they took an action, then they shouldn't take that action. "because I said so" does not, and should not work. Ever.
Editor's Note: I missed the original intent of the question, but I think the answer still applies.
How would you handle questions raised on Meta about your actions? Would you be willing to reverse an action? -- Rebecca Chernoff
I would answer them in public, right there. Of course, if I took an action that would cause issues, I would make sure the person who I took it against would know first, so that there was no confusion on their part. That person and I should have a dialog that predates the action and postdates the action.
If I'm wrong, I'm confident the community will tell me loudly, and I would own up if it were a mistake I made. I try to move gently enough that those instances would be few and far between.
With respect to people bringing their grievances to MSO, moderators may often be in a position where their input is necessary to explain a particular decision. The OP in these cases may not be willing to accept that explanation, at least at first. How do you determine when trying to help a user stops being productive, and starts becoming a waste of time, and how does this determination impact your general moderation philosophy (as far as closing versus encouraging edits, etc.)? -- Tim Stone
When the determination is made that they're just rabble rousing, then it becomes a "Don't feed the troll." Issue. The community will see it for what it is, and if the moderator has done anything wrong, then community will say so. If the user is in the wrong, the community will say so. That's one of the best things about our Meta site.
What do you think about the recent popular top voted questions deletion (ex:What was your first home computer?)? Are you going to be a "deletionist" or an "inclusionist"? -- systempuntoout
GTKY questions that have value to googlers are different than GTKY questions like your first computer. As an example, I recently googled 'Good mice for programmers'. This question is a great question, but it doesn't belong on Stack Overflow. I hope it has a home on Programmers, though. But it does have use (not as much as the "Best Keyboard for programmers though). see my previous answer.
A more general question would be: how do you feel about (and how would you handle) off-topic questions that get answers and upvotes, ie, the community likes? - Rebecca Chernoff
Let the community duke it out at first. Only step in if and when the community has not reached a consensus. The first 48 hours generate the most turmoil for a question, so it should be watched closely during that time.
Oddly enough, as a non-moderator, I always wish those questions would be closed or migrated quickly so they don't have a chance to generate such turmoil.
But what seems to happen is that the Moderators stay out of it at first. Unless there's a compelling reason to change that, I'll continue that trend. It's one of those 'let's cross that bridge when we come to it' problems.
On the topic of migration: how well do you think you understand the scope of other SE sites like SU, SF, or P.SE? (and which makes the best trash bin?) -- Shog9
That's where following precedent is important. You have to gauge not just one community but every community you want to migrate something to, so a good moderator should have an account on each site and spend time there (see my user accounts for how I do. I'm active on a number of sites related to programming, such as Webmasters, webapps, UI, and Programmers)
SO has trolling users. We all know some. Do you anticipate treating them differently than others when dealing with problematic questions or answers? -- Michael Petrotta
I've answered that here. Just keeping it for the sake of cross referencing.
If they have no redeeming qualities, then it's best to keep them away from the community as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, Boxing is a private affair. I do believe there are times that it should be made public so it isn't seen as a moderator abusing their power.
But that's a personal preference, and I do follow the present convention on that, even if I don't fully agree with it.
What do you think about removing earned reputation on questions closed as duplicate? -- systempuntoout
I've posed an entire question and suggested a course of action on that topic: It has 37 upvotes, so it has community support.
###Final Thoughts
I believe a moderator should be very active in the community, and should spend their time cleaning up the cruft and gently guiding the community. They should listen to the community and be fully transparent in what they do. They should participate on Meta.
Josh K : I have 137 consecutive days on P.SE. So I have enough time. 
