Hello,
Based on discussion here:
I propose to add @julcnx as additional moderator for the Thailand section.
It is not due to lack of moderators but more for political reasons supporting Julien representing the OSM community.
@Tordanik: I’m not sure if you are the right person to contact, but I still haven’t been assigned the Moderator role for the Thailand category. Is this something you or someone else can help with? 
Like all members of @forums-governance, I can grant moderator status. We don’t make this decision arbitrarily, though, but base it on the Moderator Selection Criteria. It has a list of criteria to become a moderator, as well as a section on how to run a poll. As far as I know, no such poll has been conducted yet regarding your candidacy. I would consider it acceptable in this particular case for the existing moderators to set up the poll, and there has probably been sufficient time for community discussion that it can be started immediately. Please start a new thread with an unambiguous title for that purpose. I can help if there are technical difficulties.
However, I’d also like to manage expectations regarding this point:
The role of a moderator is to keep the conversations in a forum category civil and constructive within the bounds of the guidelines. A moderator does not represent the community to the outside world.
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May I suggest here that for the next meeting of forums-governance, this “not” part be discussed to be added explicitly on the place that defines the role moderators on community OSM org?
Thanks!
And perhaps I’d add “there are other structures available that do that” (such as local chapters)?
You might have seen that I explicitly mentioned in the linked moderator re-evaluation that a forum moderator is NOT a spokesperson of OSM towards 3rd party.
The request by Julien was based on the 3rd party perception of OSM in which they expect a “moderator” to be someone with special powers and the improvement to speak for the community.
All the processes around the new community forum like elections/polls for moderator roles help to manifest this impression.
While those deeply involved in the forum know the difference, frequently it is not understood correctly from outside parties. And even some OSM members thought that a moderator has special decision powers.
I did raise concerns about this in a different thread where discussion was around moderator selection.
Specifically for Thailand, a local chapter like suggested by Andy seems out of reach for me, based on the numbers and structure of active community members. There had been attempts to increase OSM visibility by partnering with foss4g for the SOTM Asia 23.
I’m quoting again the initial justification for the application:
My aim is to launch a Chiang Mai mapping-focused Facebook group to promote OpenStreetMap awareness and attract new contributors.
While I recognize the modest responsibilities of the Community Moderator role, it’s crucial to highlight that its undocumented aspects may be unclear to newcomers, as I’ve shown before.
I believe any community-approved role brings a sense of trust, quality, and knowledge, and can help me attract new members to our small community.
@Tordanik It might have been my fault to post a request into the wrong category. Just to double-check: Does it really be a new topic in the “new category request” category? It would have been the first request of this kind ever there.
Based on the concerns raised here: Shall we start this process, or better wait for a further discussion by governance team?
No, the poll would be conducted in topic in the category for which the user wishes to become a moderator – in this case, ประเทศไทย (Thailand).
I expect we’ll briefly talk about this topic at this week’s @forums-governance meeting on Thursday. So if you want to make sure all of us have considered this issue first, you can wait for that. I personally expect that I would implement the outcome of a poll among the local community regardless of my own feelings on whether those are the “right” reasons to become a moderator.
Just to confirm: This was a topic at today’s meeting. As long as a moderator candidate meets the requirements and the proper process is followed, the governance team will implement the local community’s decision. So feel free to go ahead and start a poll.