Stack Overflow Inc.: radio silence continues

[cellio]

I've made some updates to my timeline post, but for those following me via the feed, some updates:

• On Oct 6, David Fullerton, CTO, posted a pseudo-apology. I say "pseudo" because while, on first read, it sounds promising, the post doesn't actually apologize for what they did to me, only for hurting me more than they would have otherwise. David admitted to the serious process flaws and promised to contact me to apologize and discuss next steps.

• On Oct 8 I received email, repeating the accusation that I violated the code of conduct and again without specific citations. David also claimed that I was warned and quoted two messages from Sara Chipps (that director) which do not sound like the warnings David says they are. The email said (as did the post) that they are developing processes for both removal and reinstatement and I could apply to go through the latter when it exists. The target for having that policy was Friday.

• I immediately responded to the email (1) asking for what specifically I said that was a CoC violation and (2) asking for a conversation. David ignored the first and declined the second. This is the last email I have received from SE. I updated my answer to David's post to report on the timing of the email I received, as I'd promised the community to do.

• Sometime in here, I am told, a community manager told moderators (via a post on the private team) that I have been told what the CoC violations were. This is not true.

• On Oct 11 (Friday), SE published those processes for moderator removal and reinstatement on the private team. The post was described to me as an announcement, not a draft for comments.

• As of Sunday afternoon, Oct 13, SE has not sent me any email about this process or how I can set it in motion. I sent email asking about it.

• Update: On October 15 22:30 UTC, I received a response saying they are finalizing the process this week and they'll share the final version when it's ready. I have more to say about this in this post.

By the way, the "body count" -- the number of moderator positions either vacant or suspended -- is up to 79 (from about 50 individuals; some are on multiple sites), including four on Stack Overflow itself. One moderator deleted his accounts entirely. This is sad. It didn't have to be this way. :-(

Comments

[juan_gandhi]

Is it still important for you? Maybe ignoring them would be a better choice. (I know, attitudes vary; I'm just sharing mine.)

My support, for what it's worth

[(Anonymous)]

Monica, you don't know me; I'm not, and never was a member of Stack Exchange. I have sometimes used various parts of SE in "stealth" mode to find answers to questions I had, which frequently were already answered there. However I never ended up registering because most of the time I would get better support from smaller, more focused communities elsewhere on the internet.

About 10 days ago I have come across the whole situation created by the new CoC and your subsequent firing. I have since been monitoring the debacle, still in "stealth" mode - I don't think that it would have helped at all to register on the site just so I could add my opinions to the thousands already expressed. Especially as a new user who isn't using the site for what it was intended.

I am appalled at the treatment you have been given. I have read some of your contributions, and clearly understand that you are not the bad person they are painting you to be. I am sure there is political context to the actions you've been experiencing, probably rooted in the same causes that created a big stir on Patreon about 9 months ago. I was more or less involved in that, on the receiving side.

I understand very well your desire to clear your name, and thus your continued attempts at contacts with SE management. Unfortunately I have serious doubts that, in the end, you will be given satisfaction. They are in a position of power, and you aren't. And they have an agenda. Even the support from your community may ultimately not help, and could result in a split and shrunk community.

I wish there was anything more that I could do or say to show my support. If nothing else, perhaps it will provide you some comfort in knowing that you have a lot more supporters than you think you do.

Silvio

[madfilkentist]

You're doing the right thing in continuing to stand up for them. Claiming CoC violations and not saying what they are is what you'd expect from people running a smear campaign. It reminds me of what the Finnish Worldcon did to one of its program heads a few years ago.

I'm not a moderator, but I've deleted my Stack Overflow/Exchange/Superuser profiles, for whatever that's worth.

I hadn't paid any attention to Patreon after they tried to shaft people making small contributions (announcing a surcharge that was nowhere authorized by their terms of service), so I hadn't heard about this new stuff there.

[doctajonez]

Hi Monica,

I'm so sorry for what has been done to you, and I'm outraged at SO's behaviour, especially the pig-headed behaviour of some of the SO staff.

I used to have huge respect for Sarah Chipps, but over the last few weeks she has displayed her true colours. For someone who has been held up as an exemplar of progressive values, I find it astonishing how ill equipped she is for such a role, and the attitude she displays. Her behaviour should have earned her a prompt ejection from SO for gross misconduct, but the fact that the company has doubled down on this debacle shows that the demons are within the walls, and there's nothing that can be done at this point.

I read an interesting unrelated post from one of the SO employees, which to paraphrase a little stated that the company now pretty much disregards any feedback from the meta community. They feel that all they get from meta is negativity, nobody wants to actually interact with the community, and casually dismiss feedback as too negative to be constructive.

I'd suggest that if they only tend to get negative feedback, that might be for a very good reason. It should be a huge red flag to the company, and a massive cause for concern. Alas, it seems that things are at a point of no return, and I worry that this marks the decline of the whole network.

I truly hope you manage to get justice, whether that take the form of re-instatement, an apology, or anything else that would satisfy you.

Please keep us updated, I've been following your progress daily, and have been keeping my fingers crossed for you.

[jennyaxe]

I'm not a moderator, but I've been active on the SE sites (as "Jenny D", https://stackexchange.com/users/1467065/jenny-d)for several years now - initially only on ServerFault, but after a while I crossed paths with you on some of the other sites. I've always found you respectful and thoughtful, both in agreement and disagreement.

As I said, I don't have any mod diamond to remove, but I am no longer doing queue work, answering questions or otherwise contributing to the site. Because I just can't volunteer my time and efforts to a company that behaves this way. (And this is not based solely on your blog posts; I've actually slogged through the entirety of related stuff on meta.SE too...)