Change in roles for Jon Ericson (leaving SE)

Question

It’s a bit surreal to be writing this post—not many people can say they left their dream job twice. Today is my last day as an employee of Stack Overflow. I’ll be joining College Confidential as their Community Product and Operations Manager doing many of the same things I’ve been doing here but with a very different community. To the degree I’m ready for this challenge, it’s because of the amazing experience I’ve had with this community.

When I worked as a programmer at JPL, my first dream job, I was an avid reader of Joel on Software. Joel described software developers who were masters of their craft and companies that treated them accordingly. While I was treated quite well, I looked enviously at programmers who got private offices and didn’t have to fight for better computers. After I was hired at Stack Exchange I didn’t have to envy anymore. The company has always supported me and given me everything I need to excel.

Joel’s legacy won’t, I think, be comfortable chairs or adjustable desks, however. Stack Overflow has given us a far greater gift: global collaboration. Where else can you use the small chunks of time between meetings and such to help someone who lives who-knows-where solve their programming problems? And better than that, your answer can help other people you will never know for years to come. (Upvote notifications on old answers encourage me more than you can imagine.) In my childhood, this was literally the stuff of science fiction.

Obviously we’ve still a long way to go before we achieve an online utopia. As long as I’ve been a community manager, I’ve struggled with what the title means. The goal, however, has always been clear: guide people in the community toward a better future. I’ve developed skills in data analysis, behavioral psychology, event planning, survey design, user interviews, specifications, podcasting and, most importantly, written communication so that by any means available I can be an influence for the good of the community.

I’ve learned so much from my colleagues over the years. It’s impossible for me to imagine a more talented, caring, thoughtful and encouraging group of people to work with. Let me put it this way: I look forward to meetings. (I plan to continue hosting the Unicorn Meta Zoo podcast just so that I can interview my friends here at the company.) Stack Overflow has an amazing future thanks to the hard work of the Community Product team and the unsung heroes who are the Community Managers.

I made this decision in December and it's not correlated with the recent CM team changes. These are just an unfortunate coincidence.

Now I’m not leaving Stack Overflow and Stack Exchange entirely. I still plan to be a user of the sites and to apply to get my moderator diamond back. ;-) I think I come back to the community with a new perspective, ready to help in any way I can. I believe in the Q&A format as a means to pass along information and there is no better place to see that than the Stack Exchange network.

Answer 1

I worked with Jon for a long time. He joined the company 6 and a half years ago, but I had already been working with him for a lot longer than that. Even though we didn't really know each other or particularly even care to know more about the people behind the names in those days... We had been working together since the very beginnings of Stack Overflow, since those UserVoice days. Jon shaped these sites in innumerable ways, influenced more people than we can ever know.

Jon, you've been an inspiration to me. Your writing is invariably thoughtful and well-researched; you draw from a wealth of knowledge and a breadth of experience that I can only dream of one day obtaining. While others babble, you pause and reflect; when you speak, it is invariably to say something worth hearing. I looked forward to every meeting you were involved in; you enriched every conversation.

But what I will miss most is your patience and humility. Even in the face of chaos and overt disrespect, I have never known you to react in anger or to lash out. You are not one to let either pride nor fear get in the way of saying what needs to be said... Whether those words be many or none at all. I envy this, and wherever our respective paths take us next I aspire to continue learning from the example that you have set here, faithfully, for so many years.

Thank you Jon.

Further reading: Please welcome Jon Ericson, Community Manager

Answer 2

College Confidential is a good site and it will be even better with you on board. (I can't help but wonder what factors might have led you to this decision, but of course it's up to you how much or how little you want to share.)

---

Update: Here is an excerpt of the Jan 17, 2020 blog post Jon published called "Why I left Stack Overflow":

In September and October, a series of events demonstrated that leadership within the company neither understood community management nor was willing to learn. In retrospect, that’s likely been the case for years, but the community team has traditionally been given discretion when it comes to community relations. The double-edged sword of attention meant more resources have been going to community-related projects, but also leadership has asserted more control. Unfortunately, their decisions repeatedly violated my standards for healthy community management. By November I was actively looking for a new job.

Thank you, Jon, for sharing your story with us.

Answer 3

I remember one time, when I was getting training of sorts to be a counselor for a youth organization, we were asked to provide examples of a leader, of any kind, who we looked up to and could aspire to be like.

My example was Jon Ericson.

Of course, nobody had any clue what I was talking about. None of the other people there had ever heard of the network, let alone individual staff members. But to me, over the past several years, Jon has been one of the people that I actively aspire to emulate.
You have a way of communicating in such a clear manner that I'm simply in envy. People respect your words because you use them so effectively, and allow you to lead them. That takes real talent.

When I was just getting started as a moderator, you were one of the most helpful resources available. The wealth of information that you have and the manner in which you are able to communicate it is simply astounding... and it doesn't hurt that you were the one who did the button-pushing of actually giving me the diamond ;)

It is unfortunate that things have come to the point where you are forced to write that "...leadership within the company neither understood community management nor was willing to learn...", and that things are now in the state where they are. But this is a step forward for you, and I wish you good luck in your future roles.

:יְבָרֶכְךָ ה' וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ
:יָאֵר ה' פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וִיחֻנֶּךָּ
:יִשָּׂא ה' פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם

May God bless you and protect you.
May God shine his face upon you and be gracious to you.
May God lift his face to you and grant you peace.
_{The "Priestly Blessing", Bamidbar / Numbers 6:23-27; my own translation}

Answer 4

Safe travels, Jon.

You'll be missed, even if we haven't heard much from you in the recent past.

I'm not sure what to think about your thoughts about coming back for a diamond, but it's certain that you know best.

It could be considered a glimmer of hope, although without additional clarity about what's going on around here that's something that is hard to hold on.

Thanks for all your work during these years.

Answer 5

Best of luck, Jon. I do hope that you get your diamond(s) back (I forget how many you had before you got all of them on the CM team). It's been a while since we've overlapped in TL, but I always remember you having insightful perspectives (even if I didn't totally agree with them) on community and moderation. I'm glad you're sticking around as a user and hope to still see you around in the mod chat from time to time.

Answer 6

Good luck Jon. Since the events of September/October (moderator resignations, the gofundme to prevent defamation etc) I was hoping that you, or a colleague within the community team, would have been given the chance to fix the mistakes made when leadership of the company decided to rush in to the role of community management with disastrous results.

You obviously had the skills and understanding to do so, but were not given the chance. I'm glad to see that you have set up your next opportunity, wish you well, and am sure that your role and talents will be better appreciated than they have been in the past few months.

Answer 7

In some sense¹ I feel like some sites have lost you twice too! Once when your activity (e.g. on the Biblical Hermeneutics where we both moderated) dropped precipitously when you picked up the CM role, and now again.

You did good work Jon, and appreciate the thought and care you put into all your actions. I wish you the best in upcoming endeavors.

¹ _{Thankfully not in the most personal sense as my first version suggested. I stand grateful for the correction on that point.}

Answer 8

Jon, you helped us on some of the more...subjective...sites handle some of the most challenging interpersonal issues in our communities with patient, calm and measured dialogue, helping us see the best in others where we maybe only saw the overt trolling, as well as supporting us in rapidly removing those that did turn out to be malicious and cruel, or downright obscene.

You helped us grow, as sites, as teams and as people.

With you gone, SE/SO is almost out of reasons for me to remain :-(

Your next employer is a very lucky company! I hope your new role is as much fun as your last one!

Answer 9

Thank you Jon for all the work you've spent making Stack Overflow a better place for all developers.

I really appreciate your effort in developing SO Documentation – answering everyone's queries and analysing the successes and failures of the project. Though, unfortunately, the project wasn't realised.

Of course, thank you for always listening to suggestions from users, not to mention adopting my idea of a "Documentation User" badge which I fondly remember.

Best of luck in your future endeavours.

Answer 10

I very much appreciate your open announcement. As so often, you come over refreshingly clear. Factual, yet from the bottom of your heart!

And by being so transparent you saved us (and the moderators here) the potential drama and endless speculations about "why is Jon leaving, right now..."

Thank you for your countless efforts to work with the user community.

I wish you all the best for your future, albeit I am less optimistic about the future of the communities here, and the company running the servers.

Answer 11

I hope the new job is also a dream job, Jon. Best of luck with it. It'll be odd to see you still around as a normal user.

Thank you for all you've done for the communities.

Answer 12

Hi Jon,

I have always loved hearing your insights, and the times I got to interact with you on a more direct level were memorably joyful.

Based on your blog post, and this, I am in some way looking forward to hearing your voice joining the chorus of community. Your posts have always been so inspirational and thoughtful.

More and more it seems there is a deep set issue with the decisions being made at Stack Overflow. That pains me, and it pains me to see the collateral damage reach people I admire.

I hope that your newfound location appreciates you as much as the community here does. Regardless of how this plays out, we will always appreciate the work you did here.

I wish you the best Jon, and I genuinely hope to see you around :)

-Travis

Answer 13

It is sad to see another high quality member leaving. Congrats on being able to move to a new position that you can enjoy. Thanks for all your hard work here and I wish you well on your future endeavors.

Answer 14

I do not know you, nor any of the CM/moderator team from SE. I'm just a regular SO programmer who from time to time look at the meta site, without writing. Just into that 99% of users.

I just wanted to say that you looked like a good guy and a great professional. I'd bet I'm speaking on behalf of that 99%, as well.

Good luck in life Jon.

Answer 15

I made this decision in December and it's not correlated with the recent CM team changes. These are just an unfortunate coincidence.

I wish you well. I'm glad it doesn't have to do with the recent changes.

It's just a shame to be losing yet another person that has invested into the community. And so soon after the others.

But again, I wish you well. I hope your new job becomes your new dream job.

Answer 16

For all intents and purposes, I am no longer using SE (any of the sites, in any form) but I saw this and wanted you to know from someone who had a negative interaction with you roughly 80% of the time (I'm not going to link, the posts are easy to find):

I really do appreciate the tone and professionalism you showed during all those interactions

More than any other CM or employee, you were the one I saw most take our ire & I always respected the honest way you responded. Thank you for all the work you did.

Answer 17

Thank you for everything Mr. Jon, especially for Meta. We're sorry to see you go as a CM but we wish you all the best and hope to see you around on the network.

Answer 18

All paths come to an end and this time your new journey starts Jon! Hopefully, in this new adventure, you will feel reward and appreciation as always and you would be able to help more people with your time and great work!

Good luck in the next stage!

Answer 19

I'm new to this community. Thanks Jon for taking efforts to make this community a big one.