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One of the things I love the most about my job is getting to hire new people to the team and seeing the amazing ways they can add to our practice. Today, I get to introduce two! Frog and bigbird joined us about a month ago, and we figured it’s time for them to meet you, folks.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with both of them so far, and I’m confident that they’ll be able to do many great things for the sites and users. They’re both highly qualified, and I’m so excited for you to finally get to meet them! Treat them well :)

Here’s what bigbird wrote:

I’ve worked in trust & safety for the last decade, with stints in intelligence, the not-for-profit sector, and most recently, as a part of an advisory board. My T&S journey started in the lead-up to and aftermath of the 2016 US elections and, over the years, has seen me both lead and be a part of global teams that discovered and disrupted influence operations, severed funding mechanisms for disinformation/extremism movements and used data-driven decisions to craft, deploy, and modify platform community standards and policies. Clichés aside, I’m an avid believer in protecting users who come from all walks of life, especially marginalized groups and maintaining a healthy and safe platform experience.

Outside of work, my hobbies are plentiful: participating in HPDE (high-performance driving events) at local tracks, spending time with my family and dog, traveling, woodworking, reading books from all genres, playing tabletop/PC/console games, building LEGOs, cycling…

And here’s what Frog said:

I've spent more than five years working in the intersection between Digital Forensics and Criminal Justice, building tools to identify, understand, and stop fraudulent behavior on social media. My work is primarily on the data and analytics side of that relationship, but I'm no stranger to the investigations and safety work therein.

On top of that, I've been doing community management on my own time (moderation, safety, and event running) in a variety of language communities. I love seeing how communities learn and grow together, and how people step up to meet their own and others' needs. If I've learned anything from this experience, it is that I cannot be everywhere at once, but I can invest my time in listening, planning, and building to have the most impact I can.

For hobbies, I run, game, play with weird old tech to see what I can make it do, and study/apply computational linguistics to see how people are using their language. I'm also in the process of learning French- slowly. Parlez-vous français? Je ne parle pas, aha.

So, folks, please welcome them to our Trust and Safety team! bigbird will also help with Rosie’s Community Engagement and Enablement Team but they both report to me. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what havoc they wreak.

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    Very happy to see the hiring of new CMs! Welcome to SE, Frog and Bigbird! Commented Feb 11 at 16:49
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    I'm not seeing the trust nor the safety in working behind an alias. Commented Feb 11 at 17:30
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    @AdrianKlaver While you're free to disagree, it's well-established that using an alias is entirely allowed. Especially considering that T&S folks may have to deal with abusive users, I don't have an issue with that decision. Commented Feb 11 at 17:34
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    It may be allowed, that does not make it right. Passing judgment on people has repercussions, if you are not up to that then you have chosen the wrong job. A good part of trust is transparency, not knowing who is judging you negates that. I know I will lose this argument, but still it needs to be made. Commented Feb 11 at 17:42
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    @AdrianKlaver I think part of cocomac’s point was that those “repercussions” can be really quite serious if a malicious user, sufficiently motivated, decides to start being a jerk to staff/mods. I wouldn’t want them to have my name, in that event. It shouldn’t matter who’s judging you anyway. Whether their user is MyUsername123 or John Doe, they’re still just a person on the Internet. There’s no way to tell they’re not lying either. How do you know that those are their real names, if their users are names at all? Using “real names” doesn’t create transparency (not that it’s a bad thing). Commented Feb 11 at 20:07
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    @AdrianKlaver - There have been cases where SE staff received credible SWATting threats to the point where law enforcement had to be involved, and cases of moderators being stalked. Reducing the risk of those things happening again is a good thing. Commented Feb 11 at 20:54
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    @AdrianKlaver It’s not easy to live a double life—saving the community by day and being a star by night. lol Jokes aside, I totally understand your point. But I have experienced users harassing me outside of SE, and it’s not fun—I didn’t deserve it. Sometimes, it’s necessary to separate personal and professional lives. I didn’t want it to be this way, but at the end of the day, I’m just trying to do my job in the best way possible while also living my personal life without fear of attacks. Commented Feb 11 at 22:20
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    I wonder if Shog9 was Shog9's real name. Commented Feb 12 at 1:02
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    @Rebecca He had eight older siblings, and they were all named Shog. Commented Feb 12 at 1:44
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    @RebeccaJ.Stones it is now! Commented Feb 12 at 4:25
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    @ShadowWizard I don't think Charlotte's comment should be construed as representing company policy. (Let's not make CMs afraid to participate in discussions for fear anything they say will be taken as Official Company Policy.) She was just sharing her experience in response to someone implying that CMs should use their real names by default. (Also, did we ever know Grace Note's real identity? Pseudonymous CMs isn't a new phenomenon.) Commented Feb 12 at 10:54
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    @ShadowWizard We do know the identity of these CMs. bigbird is bigbird, and Frog is Frog. Commented Feb 12 at 12:05
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    @ShadowWizard the company policy has always been that folks can choose their usernames, including pseudonyms. There isn't anything new there. Commented Feb 12 at 12:12
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    It's a little weird to see people concerned/upset around the "stable psuedonym" model, which was in my mind very standard until FB. There's a world of difference between "this action was taken by an undisclosed CM" (which there may be times for, but I appreciate that it isn't the default) vs "this action was taken by Frog". There was this recentish news article/study about how stable pseudonyms lead to better behavior Commented Feb 12 at 17:59
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    Yeah, there are pretty much no requirements on what identities we can pick. The only requirement is that it has to be passably professional; identities like "Shog" and "Hoid" are strictly disallowed because they would simply be too silly. Commented Feb 12 at 19:31

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A rabbit, a bird, formerly a hippo and a salmon, now a frog and another bird ...

Can we officially call the CM team the Community Menagerie now?

Joking aside, it's great to have new CMs! Welcome to you both; I hope to see you soon in TL and perhaps around the network in a non-professional as well as a professional role :-) (bigbird sounds like they'd be interested in the Woodworking and Literature sites among others, Frog maybe in the Linguistics site?)

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    You'll have to take my word for it, but the fact that we have so many critters on our team didn't even cross my mind when I chose my name- but sure enough, we are a veritable zoo. Thanks for the site recommendation! I hope to be quite involved. For that matter, I've had a question on my mind that I'll bring there later today. Commented Feb 11 at 17:45
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    @randal'thor I am going to ask Philippe if we can change our name to Community Menagerie. I have no objection to that. ;) Seriously, I'm so excited that Frog and bigbird have joined us. They're a great addition to the flock, pride, pack, or whatever we're called these days. Fun fact: A group of bunnies is called a fluffle. Commented Feb 11 at 18:51
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    Echoing Frog, appreciate the site suggestions! I will absolutely check them out. Love the user name, too. I am, slightly embarrassingly, just now reading WoT for the first time. Crossroads of Twilight is up next. What a ride. Commented Feb 11 at 19:16
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    We look forward to seeing you over on Lit.SE, @bigbird! There's also Science Fiction & Fantasy for those WoT questions that may not fit as well on Lit ;) Commented Feb 11 at 20:01
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    Another recommendation for @bigbird is Bricks Stack Exchange... I need to be more active there too! I love LEGO :) Commented Feb 11 at 22:20
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    @Rosie it’s okay by me. It’s your resume…. Commented Feb 11 at 23:31
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    I think that if we call bigbird bigbird we should use Frog's proper name and call him Kermit! (Apologies in advance if Frog is female.) Can we hire Snuffleupagus next? Commented Feb 13 at 14:11
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    All these animals may similarly be interested in biology.stackexchange.com Well, maybe not Frog. Frogs and biology labs don't have the most agreeable history... Actually Rosie may want to be cautious, too. At least we don't have any rodents yet, that'll be a tough conversation... Commented Feb 13 at 15:40
  • Sesame Exchange confirmed! Commented Mar 3 at 20:41
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I, too, am excited to finally join the menagerie. Love me a grandiose entrance, after all. Thanks for the warm welcomes, and of course suggested sites! Looking forward to doing my part and helping where, and how, I can.

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    "Asking questions is a good way of finding things out!" 💛 Commented Feb 12 at 4:26
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    Welcome to the community! Feel free to visit Bricks.SE now and then for some building-block related Q&A fun! Commented Feb 12 at 9:20
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    @JeffAtwood +1 for choosing a yellow heart!! Commented Feb 12 at 9:47
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    @bigbird do you have any preferred pronouns? This can be handy to know. Thanks, and welcome! Commented Feb 12 at 9:50
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    @bigbird I don't doubt you'll be an excellent help to the community; welcome. Is it cookie time…?! Commented Feb 12 at 11:17
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    I think the Starship Troopers meme is inappropriate, although it is satire, the whole movie's imagery is fascist to the extreme. Commented Feb 13 at 9:18
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    Who's your favorite Muppet, not counting Big Bird? Commented Feb 13 at 21:19
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    Well said, @JeffAtwood ;) It's been really rewarding to re-experience the brilliance of Sesame Street via our niece. Long live public media Thanks, zovits ! Absolutely will -- one does not simply have enough LEGO. They're on display all over my home office, with many more that need to be built Appreciate you asking, ShadowWizard , and of course the welcome -- he/him Has to be Oscar, V2Blast -- grouchy, yet lovable. Relatable, tbh Commented Feb 13 at 22:54
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    @ΞένηΓήινος The movie is maybe nonsense as most movies/adaptations are. The book, I didn't find "fascist" when I read it (when I was young) -- more like Spartan perhaps. Or like ancient Athens, i.e. a democracy in which all citizens would fight. Commented Feb 14 at 10:59
  • @bigbird: A person after my own heart. :D Commented Mar 10 at 17:43
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thanks for the warm welcome! Per the intro, I'm Frog (he/him, they/them also good), which is just a name of course. I've been on the T&S team for about a month now!

I've absolutely loved getting to know the team menagerie. Everyone's been a huge help in getting my bearings, and I've been able to make some contributions already. I'd love to say I knew what I was getting into- to an extent, I did!- but nothing can quite prepare you for the everything going on. Still, it's been fun!

And I'm looking forward to getting involved on the network. There are a ton of brilliant people here, and it makes me feel like I missed out for not coming here sooner. So, to get a head start, what are your must-see questions and answers? I know this especially famous one, and I've been caught up on the memes of meta, but I suspect these are outshining a lot of hidden gems!

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    I see that menagerie is an accepted term, then :) Commented Feb 11 at 19:54
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    This Super User one is fantastic: superuser.com/q/419070 Commented Feb 11 at 19:55
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    How dreary – to be – Somebody! / How public – like a Frog – - I'm assuming you've already been informed of most of the drama on the network in the past couple years, so I'll leave linking posts to others for the moment, but I would like to extend an invite to chat; whether that's in the Tavern (Meta.SE chat), Teachers' Lounge (moderator chat), or Discord (off-site chat), it's one of the best ways to get to know the community and build a rapport, if that's what you want. Commented Feb 11 at 19:59
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    Can you confirm that it's not easy being green? Commented Feb 11 at 22:18
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    It's great to have another friendly CM, not to mention one with a sense of humour (a useful attribute to have on Meta). Oh, and this Infosec question is by far my favourite. Commented Feb 12 at 2:29
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    Who doesn't love frogs, or Frog Fractions 2... �� Commented Feb 12 at 4:26
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    For must-see Q&A, check out Philippe's request for "the best of Stack" - many people have nominated their faves (it takes a bit of scrolling to get to my answer, but I listed a whole bunch of posts from my main sites). Commented Feb 12 at 6:16
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    @Frog do you have any preferred pronouns? This can be handy to know. Thanks, and welcome! :) Commented Feb 12 at 9:50
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    @ShadowWizard: he/him is good, they also acceptable! V2Blast: I can neither confirm nor deny the ease or difficulty of being green. JeffAtwood: YOOO I was not expecting a frog fractions fan!! I could gush about that game forever- you maybe could guess based on my language interest, ehe. Commented Feb 12 at 15:09
  • Thanks, "he/him" shall it be then. :-) Commented Feb 12 at 18:41
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    For must-see questions, I think a lot of the top-scoring questions on puzzling are really fun reads. If you've got some familiarity with code, the Code Golf underhanded, king of the hill and popularity contest regularly have some really fun and creative stuff. Commented Feb 12 at 20:46
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    "Parlez-vous français?" Bien sûr ! Bonjour @Frog (ou M. Frog). Pour info depuis que je suis en France, on m'a appris à tutoyer. À l'école c'était toujours « vous ». Commented Feb 14 at 11:04
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Welcome to the Jungle, glad to see a few new animals joining the team. I look forward to working with you all. See you around in the TL. Also, feel free to stop by the Arqade for all your gaming needs :)

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Congrats and welcome on board to you both! I know that Cesar's great to work with, and I'm sure the company's lucky to have you both on board. Welcome to the Community Menagerie! :)

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    Also, if y'all play D&D or any other tabletop RPGs: come join us over on RPG Stack Exchange! :) Commented Feb 11 at 22:16
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Welcome both.

While we're here, any chance to get some details about the role of "Trust and Safety" team?

The official faq says:

Trust and Safety – They're Batman. You'll never know they're there, until you spot what they've done. They handle anything related to keeping our users safe and our content high quality.

Can you please elaborate on the "anything" part a bit?

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    T&S has a broad remjt: They investigate large scale socking, major abusers of the network or the voting system, they deal with real world intersections with law enforcement (together with and at the direction of legal), they deal with dmca takedowns, write (and defend from major violations of) the Code of Conduct and the TOS…recommend and consult on tooling for enforcement, Stuff like that. Commented Feb 11 at 23:35
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    I actually quite disliked that description that sits there, thanks for the reminder we still should update it :) Commented Feb 12 at 0:45
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    @Philippe I can't help but notice that almost none of those things match the description of "keeping our users safe" or "[keeping] our content high quality", except very indirectly. Commented Feb 12 at 6:24
  • @Philippe thanks. While we're here (yes, again :)) and since you did mention "major abusers of the network" I wonder if the T&S team is aware of a network wide troll that roam pretty much freely for several months by now? Good reference is this chat message. As one who can only look from the side and sometimes flag the troll's posts, it just looks like nothing is done as he keep creating accounts on daily basis and waste lots of time to many innocent users. Commented Feb 12 at 8:01
  • @SteveBennett see my above comment to Philippe. One of the roles of T&S should be handling such trolls and prevent them from wasting the users time, this can be considered as keeping them safe. Commented Feb 12 at 8:02
  • @CesarM sure, looking forward to see such edit. :) Commented Feb 12 at 8:03
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    @ShadowWizard yes, we're aware. "looks like nothing is done" may be the case, but it's pretty far from the truth. Several members of the T&S team have done a lot about that and worked with mods on several different occasions. Commented Feb 12 at 12:16
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No real names, no real pictures, no posts: how do we know the new CMs aren't some AI systems? It's fine not to share names/pics and not using SE, and it's fine to be an LLM, but I'm just curious. (or more realistically, some existing SE employees but heavily LLM-assisted, so posting as a new CM in case something blows up, or as OP wrote, "havoc they wreak".)

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    I don't see how a name and/or a picture would give any guarantee they are non-LLMs. Commented Feb 11 at 21:21
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    we are ALL LLMs on this blessed day :) Commented Feb 11 at 21:26
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    nah, i'm a classic forum spambot. no AI here, just prescriptions. Commented Feb 11 at 21:32
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    "how do we know the new CMs aren't some AI systems?" They make actually funny jokes Commented Feb 11 at 22:37
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    I think this is a reasonable concern to voice. I find that Artificial Intelligence writing is so so bland -- with zero personality or quirks --it's easy to tell when someone is using LLMs instead of their Real Intelligence. I on the other hand, am definitely a LLM. Commented Feb 12 at 4:29
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    @Frog I will believe it when I see a scripted answer with poorly written unexecuted regex Commented Feb 12 at 7:29
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    I had the same suspicion, and posted a comment that got deleted quickly. But by now I do believe that @Frog isn't AI, so all good. Commented Feb 12 at 7:55
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    For all it matters, it could be the real big bird, he's been solving problems on the street for over 50 years. Commented Feb 12 at 9:33
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    @JeffAtwood Quick, we need to get you banned :) Commented Feb 12 at 16:25
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    I think it would be extremely wild to create "fake personas" for AI systems, instead of just giving the existing CM's some sort of AI tooling that flags "potentially abusive posts" or whatever. Commented Feb 12 at 18:07
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    Sometimes I WISH I was an AI system. Do you have any idea how much gentrification has hit Sesame Street?! At least LLM's don't have to pay rent. Must be nice. Commented Feb 13 at 22:56
  • According to your logic an LLM with staff privileges would be bad right? Because LLMs at this current time still can't follow context and write accurate answers right? Well if that is all true, then all you would have to do is wait and see what the new staff does, if it's good accurate behavior then assume they are human. else, raise the flags. Commented Feb 28 at 18:42

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