Welcome -- Read Me

[Archivist]

Welcome to the 2014-15 version of the job market rumor mill. Here's a set of reminders that help make these boards run much smoother.

• Please read the "General Guidelines," and note that we do not "name names" until a final hire has been made public. We aim to protect the reputations of job applicants and junior faculty members; the easiest way to do this is to avoid discussing their qualifications/accomplishments (or lack thereof) in a public but anonymous forum.
• This is a moderated forum, and the moderators have the ability to edit, move, or delete posts. If you have a moderation request, please send a PM to the moderators or just leave a note in one of the threads. See the "Moderation Notes" thread for examples of actions that prompted intervention in the past.
• When posting new positions of interest, please start a new thread for each individual institution. If you accidentally switch the "Subject" (thread name) and "Guest Name" fields, just post a request that the thread be renamed. Please do a quick search to see if a thread has already been created before starting a new one.
• With apologies to Colorado, Chicago, Cleveland, and Columbus, note that "CSU" always refers to "California State University." Avoid using more obscure or ambiguous acronyms unless the institution's identity is really obvious. Moderators can rename threads when necessary.
• Notices of criminology positions are welcome here. Again, start a new thread for each one.
• Try to keep all of the threads in the "Year Specific Job Markets" sections (i.e. "New Positions," "Status of Searches," and "Hires") focused on the particular institution. If you want to discuss issues of prestige, ranking, etc. (i.e. "Do top-five schools ever hire people who don't have top-five degrees?"), create a new thread in one of the "General" sections such as "Misc. Job Market Discussions." Many users get annoyed when they see new posts for an institution that aren't relevant to its job search.
• Registration is not required. Registration can, however, help keep the discussions civil, and it makes it easier to distinguish legitimate users from trolls or sock puppets. If you choose to post without registering a pseudonym, it helps to use the same "guest name" throughout a thread to follow an ongoing conversation.
• Search committee members often post here, so we strive to maintain an environment where they will feel welcome to participate. Registration is available for them as well, though again it is not required. Some SC members have used their real names in the past.
• Speculation about the possibility of an "inside hire" generally doesn't serve any useful purpose. We do not speculate on the possibility of "inside hires" prior to the passage of an application deadline. See "Moderating Claims of 'Inside Hires'" for more information.
• Once an application deadline has passed, stop adding new posts to these "New Positions of Interest" threads. To inquire about the status of a search, look for a relevant thread in the "Status of Searches" section and create a new one if necessary.
• Finally, "bump" means that somebody is seeking information about a particular job search. The "bump" post moves the thread to the top of the list to attract some attention.

Best wishes to all for a successful search.