baj - when we bring new mods on we encourage them to sit back for a few weeks and get a feel for the processes in place and how things work, and also usually assign mentors to them as someone for them to direct questions and such to. Some new mods jump in with two feet (sometimes without realizing how deep the pool is), and others are a bit more cautious before getting into the thick of things. Over all I think the board runs smoother now than it did when I was a newbie mod. That or I just do less moderating. I remember that signature change request thing. Certainly a case where we the mods learned to approach such situations in a different (and better) way.