Why did Will resign from the Stack Overflow mod team? [closed]

Question

I just noticed Will's profile on Stack Overflow (and Wont's on MSO.)

I could have sworn Will used to have a Diamond. Now he does not.

I've searched Meta for an explanation. Nothing found.

What happened to everyone's favorite moderator?

Answer 1

Sorry, with the holiday and other things, I'm a bit late in writing this. But, yes, it is true, I've submitted my resignation as moderator to the team. Of course, I'm still around and will continue to contribute and help-vampire on SO and other SE network sites.

There are a few reasons, good and bad, why I have resigned.

The good... I've been moved onto a project that's just starting and already has a deadline for September. It's a linchpin between a number of our other products, and our customer base has been yelling for it for quite some time. I'm already elbow deep in prototypes right now, and as I have the attention span of a SQUIRREL! I owe it to my work to knock down the number of distractions, this being the biggest. And, hopefully after things slow down with this project, I'll be able to dedicate some of my extra time towards personal projects which might actually bring in some cash rather than insults and accusations of fascistic tendencies. I've sunk all my free time I'd normally be using for this into moderation. Well, moderation and drinking, but a man has to know his priorities. I've got a few things buzzing around in my head I'd like to do. Kinda like this, but more useful.

The bad... the time I've been able to dedicate to moderating has been steadily declining over the past year. I've had to cut out Meta participation almost completely (something that's bad for a mod, imho), and have only been able to keep up my flag handling rates by relying on some task-streamlining userscripts. I've also been relying on the team more and more lately to handle more complex moderator tasks for me, such as sussing out socks or dealing with plagiarists. In other words, I've kept the easy part of the job and offloaded the hard parts. It's not exactly fair to my fellow mods, or to the team. I don't think they've really noticed yet, but I've noticed. If I can't give the job the attention it requires, then I shouldn't have it. Because, if you don't pay attention, you tend to screw things up.

Another issue was that I screwed things up. Specifically, I violated the moderator agreement. Not on purpose, but by a simple stupid accident. I'm glad to say that due to fixes that were immediately placed into production it will be impossible for any other mod to make the same mistake (as Tim has relayed to me), and that I didn't really screw things up that bad (which is always a possibility when you have access to sensitive information). Nonetheless, I'm depressed by this and by the trouble it has caused the StackExchange team. They take the agreement very seriously (as they should), and so I placed them in a bad position. This isn't the first time I've screwed up something like this as a mod. I've got quite a few nastygrams that Jeff sent me back in the day. I told him that if I ever became more of a liability than a benefit I'd be happy to resign; I know there are many other great, deserving users here that would love an opportunity to become a StackOverflow mod. I think that time is now.

I leave you all in very capable hands. To the team, particularly those who I have worked with closely, Shog9, Tim Post, Anna Lear, Grace Note (and Aarthi, if she reads this), my sincerest apologies and my greatest thanks. Your tireless work helps the moderator team here and at every other StackExchange site do their job to the best of their ability. I will definitely miss working with you, and wish you all the best in the future. I love you guys.

To my old comrades in flags, casperOne, Brad, George, Bill, NullUserException, Robert, BoltClock, Michael, ThiefMaster, jjnguy and ChrisF (yeah, you're new, but an old hand in the teacher's lounge), you guys are the best. People don't really know how much effort and dedication you put into your moderation, and how much you really do care about the community. Yeah, they know, but they don't know how much. It has been a pleasure serving with you for these years. Your help and comradeship has made a tough, thankless job more than worth it. To the noobs, Andrew, animuson, Flexo, Gordon, and minitech, I wish I had more time to serve with you guys. You all have shown up for your position with admirable enthusiasm and have shown yourselves worthy of your position. I'd leave you with words of wisdom, but you're all smarter than me, so let me just leave you my thanks.

To the moderator(s) who will replace me... You're in for a hell of a ride. Remember the community here is your best tool. Listen to them. When you can, defer to them. And above all protect them from the vampires, slackers, trolls and spammers. They won't realize how much you do to beat back the barbarian horde, but you'll know.

To the community at large and on StackOverflow... I'm now on your side. These nazi monkeys with guns in there hands need to understand that we LIKE asking for framework recommendations! We want to talk about whether our IDEs should have a white background or a black background! What programmer doesn't like that kind of chit chat? This overzealous closing bullshit... Oh, I'm sorry, this overzealous "On Holding" bullshit has got to stop. Its RUINING StackOverflow! I've been here since the beta, but these close nazis are driving me out of here. I mean, why would you want to close a question with 11 upvotes? Obviously people find it has worth, and like it! I'm going to ask for a feature-request so that any question with more than five upvotes cannot be closed by ANYBODY. Not even those scumbag moderators who I just recently complemented but who are all a bunch of assholes now. Here's what I think of you guys

FIGHT THE POWER!