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I'm resigning as a moderator from all Stack Exchange sites, effective today.

I didn't make this decision lightly, frivolously or suddenly. A persistent pattern of corporate missteps, and a monumentally deplorable moderator dismissal, has compelled me to re-evaluate my relationship with Stack Exchange.

The decision to resign wasn't a difficult one, from that perspective. What is difficult is that I made a commitment to this community that I must now abandon. I'm deeply sorry about that. I've been with this site from the beginning, and like to think I played some small but important part in shaping the site into what it is today.

And what a fine site it has become.

Special thanks to Shog9, Tim Post and all of the CM's, who have been nothing but supportive, helpful and educational, even when I was probably a bit more volatile than I should have been. My problems with the network have nothing to do with them.

It has been a privilege serving you.

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  • 57
    Thank you for your support and for all you have done for the communities here.
    – Monica Cellio
    Commented Sep 29, 2019 at 17:09
  • 12
    Sorry to see you go. You were one of my mentors and I’ve always appreciated your help and guidance.
    – George Stocker
    Commented Sep 29, 2019 at 17:09
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    Holy. Shit. They've gone crazy, haven't they?
    – Ripped Off
    Commented Sep 29, 2019 at 20:54
  • 5
    Hey @Will ಠ_ಠ! It's been awhile.
    – Robert Harvey Mod
    Commented Sep 29, 2019 at 20:59
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    Yeah, well, they've been going crazy for awhile. Also, I get the feeling my comments have a very short shelf life nowadays.
    – Ripped Off
    Commented Sep 29, 2019 at 21:01
  • 7
    You are one of the moderators I have usually respected the opinion of (regardless of agreeing or not), despite never having interacted with you directly in your mod role. It takes courage and conviction to take such a step, and is laudable.
    – DVK
    Commented Sep 30, 2019 at 1:58
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    Thanks, @DVK. It's nice to know that I appear to have made an impact during the short time I was here.
    – Robert Harvey Mod
    Commented Sep 30, 2019 at 2:18
  • 3
    "And what a fine site it has become." Absolutely true. And of course you played an important part in it. Everyone who contributed did. That's the power of collaborative efforts and maybe that should be the true heritage of the StackExchanges (whatever happens in the next 10-20 years).
    – NoDataDumpNoContribution
    Commented Sep 30, 2019 at 9:06
  • I just requested that my profile for this site ( and 66 others ) be deleted permanently.
    – user7519
    Commented Sep 30, 2019 at 18:13
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    @RobertHarvey learning about all this through your post. Knowing Joel personally this comes at a bit of a surprise, but I'm glad to see the community refusing to tolerate such nonsense. Quite sad to see things decay so quickly and for the community to lose one of its finest from the ranks. You've singlehandedly helped me out of many, many holes over the years with your answers and no doubt have had other impacts in many other ways. A non-trivial amount of my success is due to your unending knowledge. I wish you all the best, and offer my sincerest thanks.
    – Qix - MONICA WAS MISTREATED
    Commented Oct 2, 2019 at 11:40
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    I upvoted you leaving. Not to express sympathy. Wish you the best in wherever you go, and I fully support your decision.
    – Evan Carroll
    Commented Oct 2, 2019 at 19:24
  • Have you thought about moving #softwareengineering to an alternative host? We could move our answers across to some other platform and put links to it in the answers here
    – Ewan
    Commented Oct 3, 2019 at 9:21
  • You deleted an answer of mine about a year after it was posted because it was meant as a comment on another answer (I didn't have enough mojo for commenting yet); at first I was ticked off, then saw the point and commented a year later. ;) I am fully on your and the other mods side on this issue; recent developments not only on this site are very concerning to me. Seems the middlepersons of ark B are trying to take over.
    – ENOTTY
    Commented Oct 3, 2019 at 11:34
  • I'm sad about the state of the company, and I am sad that Joel Spolsky is its CEO, because I think he is the wrong person for the job. I've reached a point where I'll no longer be proud if I get reputation, or if I answer a question, because that would mean that the company makes money from me. And I don't want that. I hope there will be an alternative to the Stackexchange Network, hopefully before its current CEO retires. Joel, if you are reading this: I take this personally, I think you are the one who is responsible for this mess, and I am mad at you.
    – Michael
    Commented Oct 3, 2019 at 15:49
  • @Qix: how can this be a surprise if you know him personally? He is doing these kind of things for years now. Just read about the 2018 twitter debacle and how it proves that SE management listens more to Twitter than to its own community.
    – Michael
    Commented Oct 3, 2019 at 15:57

4 Answers 4

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Robert - well stated, and thank you for your service. I'm joining you in resigning from my post as moderator.

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    Thomas suspended non-urgent activity
    – gnat
    Commented Oct 2, 2019 at 12:22
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    It seems GlenH7 has not just resigned from his moderator post, but left the site completely :-(((
    – Doc Brown
    Commented Oct 10, 2019 at 14:04
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    I can understand. I've been contemplating leaving completely too. I've never really felt welcome in the community (in general, not this specific site) and I really don't like the turn things have taken lately.
    – Brian Knoblauch
    Commented Oct 11, 2019 at 20:08
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    I am also considering deleting my account.
    – Rick
    Commented Oct 23, 2019 at 3:57
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I've been struggling to find the right words to express how I feel about this. For years now this site has been a second home to me. A place to learn and show off. A place to conect. A place to dwell. A place that you watched over.

I learned so much here because you made sure this place was about it's subject. You helped rename it. You helped redefine what it was about. You kept it tidy. You made it nice.

You taught me what it was about. Well over half of my meta questions here have feedback from you. If I've done well at all here, I owe a large part of it to you.

Regardless of the reason you now choose to lay down your big hammer, I want you to know one thing. Your often thankless work here, on what we now call Software Engineering, has been deeply appreciated.

Thank you.

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    I've waited to post a response, because I thought there might be some outside chance that there would be some redemption, that SE might see how damaging all of this is and reverse some of their actions, especially Monica's dismissal. And there might be a chance that I could return as a moderator. Instead, they've doubled-down at every opportunity, and I see that there is no chance. You'll still see me around, though at a much reduced level of participation. Good luck to you.
    – Robert Harvey
    Commented Oct 11, 2019 at 23:25
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    @RobertHarvey it's truly sad. To the point I'm thinking about what it would take to make this place community owned. I know I'd pitch in.
    – candied_orange
    Commented Oct 11, 2019 at 23:38
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I waxed if I should reply to this or start an entire thread by itself, but I wanted to toss this in.

I never 'knew' Robert, but he was professionally critically of a question I asked once, and at first I was embarrassed enough that I deleted the question. I realized however, the great service done upon me. I was seeking design help on building a framework for Unity, and Robert asked how to quantify what I was asking, just not an opinion but what I was actually trying to achieve.

Months later it dawned upon me that I really didn't know what I was trying to build, and that redirection encouraged me considerably. I think more importantly, a question that was asked with a subjective answer in mind was not answered and I think that's critical. SO / and SE as a whole is a place to find knowledge, and I think without moderation opinion and duplication will take hold.

I fear of the community's loss Robert, and thank you not for making me feel invited, but making me feel that I needed to think more about what I was asking.

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I see you reading. So I'm glad you're still here.

I don't see you posting. Just want you to know you're missed.

Hope you are well. Thanks for everything.

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  • Hey, just saw this. Thanks. I do continue to read, but seldom post. I occasionally write a comment here and there. It's easier to post here on Software Engineering than it is on Stack Overflow. Nowadays I get most of my programming questions answered through ChatGPT, which is a lot more "accepting" of my ambiguous questions than Stack Overflow is. The greatest value I've gotten from Stack Overflow is its WPF tag, a treasure trove of hidden gems. Answering questions on Software Engineering has always been more interesting for me, as it involves "softer" topics.
    – Robert Harvey
    Commented Dec 13, 2024 at 13:12
  • Anyways, thanks for reaching out. I still look on this community with a (albeit somewhat detached) degree of fondness.
    – Robert Harvey
    Commented Dec 13, 2024 at 13:13
  • Great to hear from you! That detachment may well be healthy, all things considered. ChatGPT certainly changed this sites relationship with Google. Big thing I get from this place is it forces me to figure out how to express what I think. And it's not shy about letting me know when I miss the mark. It can be harsh but that's what makes it fun when you get it right.
    – candied_orange
    Commented Dec 13, 2024 at 14:34

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