What do we expect from moderators on EL&U?

Question

What do we expect from moderators on EL&U?

The issue of holding fair elections is largely technical. The long-term solution will likely come from us. Still, bring up these issues in meta. There is a lot of room for innovation. Discussing the criteria of a great moderator is important and picking out potential candidates is a great way to introduce outstanding contributors to your community. And we are completely open to appointing temporary Moderators when someone’s contribution makes them a standout choice for your community’s human exception handler.

Answer 1

A good moderator would be fair, impartial and level-headed. Jeff's "Theory of Moderation" post (linked to in the question too) sums it up a quite well, as most people here will probably agree.

I find Wiktionary's usage notes for level-headed quite fitting:

Often having the connotation of remaining calm, composed, and careful, of not acting out of reflex or excessive emotion.

Being an expert in some field related to the study of the English language will certainly lend more credibility to a moderator, but is still of secondary importance (as Neil Fein pointed out).

Answer 2

I think what I would expect from them is that they do the minimum possible moderation work in order that the site can function.

Answer 3

They should be pretty good with English.