No, I think it's ridiculous. It just means those that are less known (or less popular) will have to ask or seek approval from one of the many Support Leaders or another member to get them to be nominated. It seems to serve absolutely no purpose because whoever could nominate would automatically be inclined to put up for nomination one that they feel is supportive enough (like a taster of their application). Some people's posts or efforts may go unnoticed and it seems a shame that someone that is so dedicated would have to then be put up for nomination. Those that have friends that are SLs could easily nominate the other, and those that don't might just feel turned down by the idea. It could easily discourage new members from becoming SLs, even in the long run. As for the penalty, that's silly. A nominator who nominates someone that they don't know or don't see posting around could easily nominate a spammer (perhaps a dedicated one). Then if they get the SL status and begin to fuck around or put in a shoddy application you'd be willing to punish the person that prompted their application? Or even still you'd just be making SLs wary of nominating people in fear of being punished.
The whole idea seems unnecessary and I can't see how it would accomplish anything.
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Intelligence is the ability to avoid doing work, yet getting the work done.
Patron
so we're turning this into a popularity contest rather than a demonstration of ability? 
Sustainer