Community Month has come to an end.
Although, let’s be real. Every month is community month! Every day even, because without the daily contributions from the Community, iFixit simply wouldn’t exist.
So thank you to each and every one of you who help keep the world of repair turning!
This month, we wrote about the Community’s history and introduced some new contests.
But, today we want to take the time to highlight some of our moderators.
These defenders of the iFixit interwebs are the reason Guides, Wikis, and Answers are as comprehensive as they are today.
The moderators go the extra mile to write content and answer questions that help folks fix their stuff. They are also the first folks to notice when spam is posted, or when there are duplicate guides.
They even know when there’s a new fixer on the block who might be worthy of mod status in the future.
Truthfully, if we wrote about the myriad ways that mods keep the site running, we would have to dedicate a much longer post. They are crucial to helping the iFixit staff push the mission forward.
Internally, we are always wondering how they can do so much. And in the end, all we can say is they probably have magic powers or something the mods have a drive to help those who are in need. And they do it with expert knowledge and care.
They’ve developed a sixth sense for these kinds of things. So we figured we’d share a little bit about some of them in order to better understand what makes them tick.
Most Used Tool: Precision Bit Driver
Favorite Guide: How to Speed Up an Old or Cheap Android Phone
Simone is a moderator for the Italian community. He came on board in 2023 after many years of fixing
“I love the idea of an open platform where everyone can give their own contribution…and at the same time learn how to fix their equipment.”
He’s modest about his repair knowledge, preferring instead to talk about the importance of building upon your skills from the ground up, starting with the basics, while being conscious of your own abilities.
He believes in diving into the unknown to learn fully from the repair experience.
This sentiment is what makes him such a good fit with the iFixit Community. Repair isn’t about being the perfect fixer or knowing everything there is to know about repair. It’s all about collaboration and trying things out to see if they work, as well as being receptive to new ideas that can help you along the way.
For Simone, this is what Community is all about, “I love optimization and fine-tuning as a concept. I’m triggered by hard challenges where the goal is virtually impossible to achieve.”
Simone’s repair tenacity was built over time and began with his love of cars, specifically replacing damaged parts on Mini 4WD cars.
Growing up in the 90s, he wasn’t a big fan of computers. They had one in the house, but he was never compelled to tinker with it, “I didn’t actually value them yet and considered them pretty boring. I preferred playing my video games on consoles.”
This changed when he got his own computer and a close friend with notable repair experience in electronic devices showed him how to fix them. Some years later, that advice came to bear when another friend asked him for help to fix the screen on his HP Pavilion, “I removed the broken display and since I had a working HP laptop with the same connector, I hooked it up!”
He has since expanded his skillset to bicycles, PCs, software, and motorbikes.
Most Used Tool: Mako Driver Kit
Favorite Guide: Nothing specifically, but does love the Mac & iPhone Teardowns
Everything Apple and everything flannel! That’s the way Alisha describes themselves, “I wear a lot of flannels, I would consider it a defining characteristic. A flannel shirt is my mother’s go-to gift for me.”
A former resident of the Apple Authorized world, they have invested a lot of hours into Macs and iPhones. But, they emphasize that computers and mobile devices of whatever sort are solidly in their wheelhouse, “I have a specific interest in board level or component level repair. I wouldn’t say it’s a specialty, but it is the thing I enjoy the most right now.”
Full disclosure, Alisha’s highly detailed work has garnered her a contractual position with iFixit working on a special project that the entire Community will benefit from!
Alisha is usually found on the Answers Forum answering repair questions because they enjoy the endless opportunities to dig into problems in order to learn new things.
Whenever a new question pops up, they are fully invested in figuring it out. And it’s not just for the sake of finding a solution, but also to find out why that particular solution works, “This post made me totally rethink some things I had taken for granted doing repairs for Apple. What does a system configuration even do?” This vague term for a process that covers so many things sparked a need to find out everything about exactly how this cable works.
Alisha spent hours parsing data to get an answer that went well beyond what OP was asking, just for the chance to build upon their already existing knowledge base.
This curiosity makes Alisha a standout for troubleshooting devices.
Plus, their kindness and willingness to help is incredibly inviting for first time repairers who are looking for answers.
Most Used Tool: ProTech Toolkit
Favorite Guide: Macbook Pro
Our resident turkey has been an iFixit member since 2010 and moderating since 2011, but don’t be fooled by his handle, “It used to be my gamer name during the mid-90s. I was the old guy amongst “the kids” and somehow it stuck.”
He found himself on iFixit in need of a battery replacement for his 5th Generation iPod, “Once I found the help and got some great answers from some great people, I was hooked.”
He appreciated how kind total Internet strangers were to him during his time of need.
There was no flaming, profanity, or belittling, just some friendly help from folks who know what they’re doing.
Since then, he’s been passing along the favor to others who find themselves in a similar situation, “I try not to specialize, but have an interest in most consumer electronics. Right now, I’m on the TV kick since everyone has one.”
TVs are more affordable than they used to be and many repair shops won’t take them on if they’re broken, because they can’t make money on those repairs.
So OT helps by coaching folks into troubleshooting the basic boards. This keeps TVs out of the landfill and people’s hard earned money in their pockets.
He lives by the motto, “We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that.”
And given his credo, you’ve probably seen him spreading his 50 years worth of fixing experience around.
His reach is so widespread that over the years he has had people reach out by email to thank him for just that.
He recalls helping a woman from the UK, whose dad had recently passed away. She was desperate to fix his favorite electric screwdriver. The memories of her and her dad fixing things around the house with that very tool were invaluable, and OT’s help in getting it back to working order, brought a sense of relief and gratitude that she never forgot.
Most Used Tool: Manta Driver Kit (4 mm Screwdriver)
Favorite Guide: Nothing Phone (1) Screen Replacement
Brewing beer? Check. Writing guides about Ferraris and Rivian? Check and check. Helping pioneer guide moderation? Check.
Jacob is our newest, guide-specific moderator.
Of course, you’ll still see him on the Answers Forum and creating content, but what’s different is that you’ll also see him in the guide steps and comments more often. His role is designed to help point folks in the right direction who have left comments or ideas in these areas of the site, “A big part of what brought me to the community was the fact that you could find anything here. I originally came to the site to learn how to optimize the repair of Chromebooks, and stayed because of how vast and impressive the amount of stuff that could be fixed was.”
Full disclosure, Jacob’s high-quality work has secured him a contractual position with iFixit. Much of that work will be unveiled in the coming weeks, so you’ll be seeing his name (and Alisha’s) more often.
Jacob has six years of repair experience under his belt and works primarily in IT repairing end user hardware and software.
So our community lucked out with getting him onboard!
He’s always willing to help and has a few suggestions for anyone coming to the site for the first time, “Don’t be afraid to ask questions. The community is always willing to help out others, especially if they are starting out. I also recommend looking at the Electronics Skills section of the site to learn some of the basics of working with electronics, and some of the tools.”
If you see Jacob around, make sure to take advantage of his expertise. He’ll be glad you reached out!
These are just some of the mods that help keep the Community running smoothly. If you find yourself in a repair bind, these folks (as well as our other mods) are willing to help you.
Also, double thank you (to the mods) for making the time to participate in this blog post. It means a lot that you are willing, not only to share your repair knowledge, but also to share a little bit of your personal lives with the wider Community.
We also truly appreciate each and every one of the Community members and it’s our hope that this month you were able to feel that appreciation through and through!
If you’re looking to be a mod for us one day, you can get your start by participating in the Repair-A-Thon or the Repair Hero of the Year!
These two contests are a good way to exercise your repair knowledge with the Community.
We’ll be on the lookout for those of you who participate!
(P.S. feel free to drop in the comments and show some love to the mods.)
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