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I am aware that is was asked to have full list of moderator and completed, however I couldn't find anywhere any indication of past moderators e.g. someone who was moderator year or two ago but no longer act as one.

My incentive for asking for such a thing: this answer (10K+ rep needed to see it) was deleted by a single member who is not a moderator now. I can only guess he was moderator back in March 30th 2011 when he deleted it, but it's only an assumption.

So, to the existing moderators list I suggest to add another link like "Archive" or "Past moderators".

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  • 7
    Alternatively, some indication on their profile would be nice. I know a few times this has come up with SU, where we had a big moderator turnover.
    – BinaryMisfit
    Commented Apr 5, 2012 at 10:58
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    @Diago not sure about it... when someone stops being a moderator it might be because he asked so and doesn't want people to know he was a moderator just from viewing his profile.
    – Shadow Wizard
    Commented Apr 5, 2012 at 11:00
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    Fair comment. But we don't normally ask because we don't want to be, we normally ask because other things make it hard for us to commit to the duties of being a moderator.
    – BinaryMisfit
    Commented Apr 5, 2012 at 11:03
  • @Diago OK, fair suggestion but think it will be harder to implement than a simple list updated daily or weekly. :)
    – Shadow Wizard
    Commented Apr 5, 2012 at 11:05
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    So now you want to torment us even after we ragequit? ;P
    – yannis
    Commented Apr 5, 2012 at 11:23
  • @Yah aka Yan you got me! :-D
    – Shadow Wizard
    Commented Apr 5, 2012 at 11:24
  • who would be able to see such a list? Anyone or close-voters or 10Kers or diamonds or...? I would also consider an alternative way of exposing this information - for example in user profile page (again, maybe with limited visibility)
    – gnat
    Commented Apr 5, 2012 at 14:00
  • @gnat I was thinking anyone same way like the active moderators list. As for through profile page it was suggested in the first comment here. :)
    – Shadow Wizard
    Commented Apr 5, 2012 at 14:11
  • @ShaDowWizArd I see. Having same level visibility as active mods list feels slippery doesn't it? As for profile page indication I somehow (mis)read first comment as self-identification, like in About Me text. I was thinking about something automatically added by system instead. Something like drops of blood around gravatar, stuff like that
    – gnat
    Commented Apr 5, 2012 at 14:27
  • @gnat that's how I interpreted the first comment as well but only Diago can answer this feel free to ping him and ask. Anyway might be a good point, guess it's not as simple as I was thinking.
    – Shadow Wizard
    Commented Apr 5, 2012 at 14:29
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    Related: What do you think about adding a Former Moderators page?
    – The Amplitwist
    Commented Nov 25, 2021 at 13:56

3 Answers 3

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It's possible that someone would not want it known that they used to be a moderator through any means. Creating a list like this would take it completely out of individuals' control. If we asked someone to step down, it could also be a bit awkward.

Those who do want to reveal this can already edit their profile. Do we need a feature for it?

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  • So by simple request such person can be removed from the list.. still - how can I know for sure "Gumbo" was a moderator when deleting the post rather then exploiting some unknown security breach?
    – Shadow Wizard
    Commented Apr 5, 2012 at 13:50
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    @ShaDowWizArd You could always ask. :) Now we're talking not just a list, but tracking who's excluded. Not to mention using an opt-out model. I don't think potentially inconveniencing a lot of former moderators (and employees who'd be maintaining the list) is worth it considering the fairly remote chance that someone finds a deletion exploit.
    – Adam Lear StaffMod
    Commented Apr 5, 2012 at 13:53
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    And what about historical significance? E.g. if you'll want to tell your grandchildren in 30 years "You know, your grandmother was moderator of the famous Stack Overflow, here is the proof" :)
    – Shadow Wizard
    Commented Apr 5, 2012 at 13:57
  • @ShaDowWizArd Here's all the proof my grandchildren will ever need. Also I had no idea Gumbo was a moderator, but going through his MSO questions it was pretty easy to find out that he was.
    – yannis
    Commented Apr 5, 2012 at 14:10
  • @Yah Wasn't aware of those cards.. nice! Running out of excuses here, lol - but still, one can always hope right? :)
    – Shadow Wizard
    Commented Apr 5, 2012 at 14:13
  • There's also historical election data which could suffice as "proof" that somebody used to be a moderator. For example, from Stack Overflow's election page you can see that SLaks was elected but no longer has a diamond.
    – nhinkle
    Commented Apr 5, 2012 at 15:48
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I agree that it would be nice to have this information all in one place. I understand that some might prefer not to be on such a list, but so long as a moderator's actions (like unilateral deletions or closures) remain the question will arise, so I don't know if that is a compelling argument.

It's not complete information, but two badges can help: Constable is awarded to pro-tem moderators who serve one year or are moderators when a site graduates, and Sheriff is awarded to elected moderators who serve at least one year. This excludes moderators (of either type) who don't stay in office for at least a year, and it may exclude people who stopped being moderators before these badges were created (it looks like those were awarded manually so it's possible that people were missed).

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  • The badges were awarded to past moderators when they were created. If anybody misses theirs, I'm sure that SE staff will oblige. However what the badges won't help you with is past moderators who have since then deleted their account.
    – Gilles 'SO- stop being evil'
    Commented Jun 9, 2015 at 20:13
  • @Gilles I checked the Constables on Mi Yodeya because I know who was a mod when there, and the past mods weren't all awarded on the "expected" dates. That suggests to me that there were some manual additions after the initial awards, but maybe there's another explanation. You're right that past mods who've deleted their accounts won't show up, but they won't show up on any user list. I wonder what happens to the "deleted by X" notices -- probably just reverts to "deleted by user111" with no link and no diamond, but I don't have an example handy to check.
    – Monica Cellio
    Commented Jun 9, 2015 at 20:20
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These are not the droids you're looking for

These are^not the droids you're looking for^either :/.

There's no visible link, but adding /election to the URL of any site gets you the list of all elected mods. I'm not sure what happens on sites which have ongoing elections. Or where to find SO employees who've been fired (do any of those exist?).

EDIT: Alright, either that page only lists the past year's election (in which case Below is a historical record of all elections to date is wildly inaccurate), or, as @Diago said,

That list does not include moderators selected and gone before elections became and official process using the software itself. In the past it used to be a meta post with a list of potential candidates.

So nope, no droids. @Devs pretty please???

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    @ManishEarth The actual election pages where only used from 2011 onwards, however, before that and before SE 2.0, elections where generally a much more informal process, and in some cases, didn't even happen in the case of SU and SF. Your original answer is valid for everything from 2011 onwards however.
    – BinaryMisfit
    Commented Apr 5, 2012 at 11:26
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    The election pages do not include pro tempore moderators on beta sites, moderators on the Trilogy (Stack Overflow, Meta Stack Exchange, Server Fault, Super User) who were nominated through the more informal process used until 2011 that Diago mentioned, or moderators who were runner-ups in elections and were brought in after an elected candidate left or after the workload increased.
    – Gilles 'SO- stop being evil'
    Commented Apr 5, 2012 at 11:35
  • @Gilles Interestingly, the latter case of brought in afterwards does show on the SO election page, it may however be a new feature.
    – BinaryMisfit
    Commented Apr 5, 2012 at 11:37

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