134

The title says it all: I'm resigning. In the last few days the Stack Exchange staff introduced a new policy about AI-generated content and how we should moderate it.

This is a policy hastily created by Stack Exchange and forced to us moderators in an insulting way, irrespectful of the expertise and the work we have volunteered so far.

Therefore, I'm no longer interested in spending my time for Stack Exchange.

Here I've learned a lot, and it's been a pleasure and a honour to serve this community as a moderator, working together with all the other moderators, past and present.

So, well, so long and thanks for all the fish!

10
  • 15
    Huh. Thanks for your time over the years, and for bringing attention to this. I don't regularly cruise MetaSE, I would've missed it.
    – user137975
    May 31 at 17:45
  • 28
    Just adding my thank you for all you've done.
    – Brian Tompsett - 汤莱恩
    May 31 at 20:24
  • 10
    Thank you to you and all the moderators (and ex moderators) for everything you did for this wholesome community. I'm sad the AI hype is shattering all the good stuff.
    – Amelian
    Jun 1 at 4:27
  • 7
    Thank you for your time as a pleasant, friendly, and helpful mod. :)
    – gnometorule
    Jun 2 at 22:20
  • 1
    I think the strike is the better measure, but then, you posted this a week ago... I wonder if one can ask to be reinstated as a moderator just in order to go on strike, like in that Seinfeld episode.
    – einpoklum
    Jun 7 at 21:16
  • 3
    @einsupportsModeratorStrike When I decided to resign, I was aware that a strike was being planned, but I decided to resign anyway (but I did sign the letter about the strike). There are three reasons for this. 1) I happily volunteered my time here as a hobby, and I'm happy if along the years I've been able to help someone within my domain of expertise, but if I have to endure insults from the SE staff for a hobby, well, no thanks. (cont.)
    – Massimo Ortolano
    Jun 8 at 17:34
  • 4
    2) I'd have kept the mod position and participated to the strike in that capacity if I thought that SE had the capacity for performing a correct analysis with cool head, but the responses from Philippe were clearly those of someone who is panicking and is incapable of analysing, listening and work for the best of the communities; his later posts on Meta did confirm my first impressions. (cont.)
    – Massimo Ortolano
    Jun 8 at 17:34
  • 7
    3) Last but not the least, in my view, the Community Managers should have stopped the management from behaving in this way toward the moderators and the communities, but this hasn't happened and this means that within SE there's no one that could stop the higher ups from misbehaving again in any point in the future.
    – Massimo Ortolano
    Jun 8 at 17:38
  • 6
    @einsupportsModeratorStrike Let me add this: I started participating to online communities about thirty years ago in the newsgroup era. I've skipped earlier BBSs just because my modem was really too slow and the connection expensive. When newsgroups started to become obsolete, I moved to Internet forums and then to SE. Some of the users who I first met in the newsgroup era are now here (I even met a couple, or met common acquaintances). So, in my view, platforms pass, people stay and move. Maybe this and AI won't be the end of SE, but the management should not consider the platform eternal.
    – Massimo Ortolano
    Jun 8 at 17:52
  • 1
    Thank you very much! You have been the best moderator for me!!!
    – user111388
    Jun 9 at 14:12

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
62

Thank you for serving as a moderator at Academia SE. It was a pleasure to interact with you here as well as all over the Stack Exchange.

It is a shame what Stack Exchange (as a company) is doing to the community. The way it was done is simply disrespectful, and I have a strong feeling that this is not going to be an isolated incident. Even though, given the history of how the company interacts with us, the pattern has been established long ago.

Thanks, Massimo.

0
54

While I think your outward contributions of amazing answers speak for themselves about the type of member the community is losing, the community might not be aware of how respected of a moderator you were internally. As a former moderator, I always knew I could count on you to contribute to the drudgery of cleaning up flags. While constantly cleaning up spills for years on end is no small feat, it is not what made your hidden contributions special. What always impressed me about you was how your words and actions always helped lead the mod team through the truly difficult issues that we sometimes faced.

I hope you can walk away with pride knowing that while SE may have let you down, you did not let this community down.

4
  • 10
    These words are amazing for me, thank you very much!
    – Massimo Ortolano
    Jun 1 at 13:02
  • 2
    @MassimoOrtolano I had really hoped that SE changed it ways (cf. meta.stackexchange.com/questions/386845/…), but it seems that is not the case.
    – StrongBad
    Jun 1 at 14:00
  • 6
    Yeah. A discomforting thing is that when I've started thinking that SE was reaching a decent steady-state, they again take a number of appalling decisions... an avalanche of mistakes.
    – Massimo Ortolano
    Jun 1 at 14:21
  • 11
    Never a mod here, nor privy to your internal discussions, but as a network mod, what contact I had with @MassimoOrtolano left me with a very similar impression. I should add that I had quite a bit of interaction with you though, StrongBad, and every word you wrote here is equally applicable to you and how you behaved when we were riding the storm a couple of years back.
    – terdon
    Jun 2 at 19:30

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .