Effective today, I am resigning from the moderation team.
This is not a protest resignation. Looking at the list of people who contributed to yesterday’s board announcement, I believe the community is in excellent hands with its current plans for future governance and I greatly look forward to what this place will be like in a month or so.
Rather, I believe my judgment is considered untrustworthy by several members of the team designing our new governance structure, and it is also considered untrustworthy by many members of the community who are afraid of the new governance structure. In that position, I don’t believe my participation, or even the appearance of my participation through any official actions I might take in the meantime, in creating this new structure does anyone any good. I’m choosing to get out of the way instead.
To the extent that my brief tenure as your moderator has been helpful, it has been my honor. To the extent that I have done harm, I am more sorry than you likely imagine. A better apology would include explicit acknowledgment of specific harms, but I don’t think it’s worth anyone’s time and energy for me to get satisfactory clarity on that. I hope that my resignation is an adequate substitute for the purpose of your catharsis.
Please don’t listen to the haters. You did an amazing job. I could see material differences once you joined the moderation team.
Your attempts to put words on issues was what I liked the most. It might not be obvious, but I think it helped generate more understanding of what acceptable speech is.
I commend your decision to step down and applaud the self-awareness and integrity it takes to do so. Your choice highlights a level of reflection that many others in this community could aspire to.
Ryan, we might have had disagreements over technical matters or even social matters, but I want to say that I truly admire and respect you for what you have been pushing for and standing for since you joined this community.
The roles you took upon yourself and your investment in this community has been humbling to me, I am sorry I did not share this more explicitly to you.
I thank you for all your efforts and hope to see you around in PRs and issues.
Thank you for your highly valued time & efforts! I hope you will consider picking up the mantle again, on the other side of the process you fear adversely affecting - should you have the desire & energy to do so.
Thank your for having helped out so much on this unpleasant task in difficult times. I am deeply impressed by the way you abide to your own principles and standards, and I admire your ability to find the right words in difficult situations.