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In October 2019, a new process for the reinstatement of former moderators was released.

Has any former moderator gone through this process far enough to receive a determination? If so, what do we know about how well the process worked or what the outcomes are looking like? I'm aware that at least one former moderator declined to seek reinstatement though this process, but one case is not a trend, and it is unclear whether there were any lower-profile or less-famous former moderators who have silently gone through this process and received some sort of determination, whether it is reinstatement or refusal.

To be clear, this is not a protest question in any way, nor am I proposing that the process be changed. I'm simply curious as to how the new process is working out in real life. If outcome statistics are available (e.g. 1/3 of 18 former moderators who completed the process were reinstated, with the most common reason for refusal being having been involved in serial voting in the past), that would be helpful, but I understand if there are things that cannot be disclosed for privacy purposes.

In response to Magisch and Stormblessed's comments, I'm asking specifically about the full, formal moderator reinstatement process in the linked document. Former moderators who either refused to engage with the process and have not been reinstated, or who were reinstated without having to go through the full process as defined (i.e. by exception) do not count.

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    iirc Journeyman Geek went through it when being reinstated on Meta.SE earlier last month.
    – Magisch
    Commented Dec 2, 2019 at 14:59
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    @Magisch when he left he said that he was told he was free to return at any time, so I think he probably just emailed Shog9 or something.
    – Stormblessed
    Commented Dec 2, 2019 at 15:03
  • @Stormblessed - he had to go through the process. If Columbia would like, I could make that an answer, but he definitely had to go through the process.
    – Mithical
    Commented Dec 2, 2019 at 15:09
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    Robert tried, but no dice.
    – Frédéric Hamidi
    Commented Dec 2, 2019 at 15:10
  • @user58 But here he answered yes to “Do you retain the right to be re-appointed upon request?” (I believe you though; that was just a source I’d spent a minute trying to find :)).
    – Stormblessed
    Commented Dec 2, 2019 at 15:11
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    @Stormblessed so that, if correct, would mean that Journeyman Geek 's case probably doesn't count. That makes my question even more relevant - are there any cases at all where the actual process as written was followed to its conclusion, or have all recent moderator reinstatements been exceptions to the process?
    – Robert Columbia
    Commented Dec 2, 2019 at 15:13
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    @Stormblessed the reinstatement process is agnostic to the reason a moderator stepped down. It is used regardless of whether or not they resigned, were removed or lost their diamond through inactivity. Quote from the official FAQ: This process is available to all moderators, whether elected or appointed, regardless of whether they stepped down on their own or were removed from their position for any reason including inactivity or through the moderator removal process.
    – Magisch
    Commented Dec 2, 2019 at 15:13
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    @Stormblessed That message was from before the reinstatement process. Since JMG requested reinstatement after, he went through the process (not least because, if there's a new process in place, it would set a bad precedent to immediately ignore it). For moderators who stepped down in good standing and kept the good standing after, the process is mostly a formality (any reasons known not to reinstate: no, check; ask other mods on the site whether they object to reinstatement: "No, why on earth would we", check).
    – Daniel Fischer
    Commented Dec 2, 2019 at 15:18
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    @user58 if you have evidence that he did, in fact, go through the process as defined, including all of the required notifications, investigations, annotations, waiting periods, etc., with no step waived except where the policy specifically grants discretion to waive it, then I would consider that an answer. If you are just speculating that since he was restored, he must have gone through the process, that is not what I am looking for. If the CM response was "Yeah, you're good, we don't need to do all of these steps", then that is an exception and doesn't count.
    – Robert Columbia
    Commented Dec 2, 2019 at 15:20
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    I can confirm I went through the process, and y'all seem to have most of it better documented than I did ;)
    – Journeyman Geek
    Commented Dec 2, 2019 at 16:26
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    Robert Harvey mentioned that he was "in the process", and that he was told "due to the recent suspension, he won't get back his moderator badge for a full year.
    – GhostCat
    Commented Dec 2, 2019 at 18:40
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    @GhostCatsaysReinstateMonica iirc he'd have to apply again in a year, e.g the process was completed as not reinstated due to the suspension roadblock
    – Magisch
    Commented Dec 3, 2019 at 9:36
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    Does this answer your question? Feedback post: New moderator reinstatement and appeal process revisions
    – Rob
    Commented May 21, 2022 at 23:06

1 Answer 1

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Journeyman Geek, here on Meta.SE

Journeyman Geek was among the first moderators to give up a diamond when the latest... incident... happened. He asked Stack to remove his Meta.SE diamond, and they obliged immediately.
Fast forward a bit, and he decided that he'd be able to help more with his diamond back. So... he requested it back.

I happen to know that at the very least, it took longer than he had wanted, and that the other remaining moderators of the site had to sign off on his reinstatement, which sounds suspiciously like the reinstatement process. :)

See the October 27, 2019 transcript of the Tavern on the Meta.

transcription below

Tavern on the Meta, October 27

Journeyman Geek: Yay free flags 🤣
Tinkeringbell: Enjoy them while they last.
Journeyman Geek: Yup
Journeyman Geek: I think no at least have the weekend 😁
Tinkeringbell: Yeah... For a process that shouldn't take that long... I find it takes quite some time! :)
Journeyman Geek: @Tinkeringbell eh. It's not really a huge priority
Tinkeringbell: Probably not no...
Tinkeringbell: Well, I want to have you back ... ASAP!
Tinkeringbell: I miss sparring with people and hate leaving flags just because there's no second pair of eyes :(
Journeyman Geek: Lol
Journeyman Geek: I don't want to push too hard though
Journeyman Geek: Folks have enough on their plate
user58: To be fair, they'd probably have less after giving the diamond back to you.
Journeyman Geek: It's in motion
Tinkeringbell: It is :) I got the e-mail asking if I had any objections yesterday... :)
Journeyman Geek: @user58 a lot of it I can't help with. Some of it I Probably did fine with no diamond
Journeyman Geek: And big picture is still fixing things longer term with the community ._.
rene: As a parrot I would assume hearing yourself say "Yeah, this is not good" counts as the second pair of eyes ...
Tinkeringbell: Parrots only repeat what they are told ;) They need someone to tell them 'yeah, this is not good' first :P
(relevant parts bolded by me)

So, yes, the reinstatement process has been used at least once, with the moderator in question winding up being reinstated fully.

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    I can confirm I went through the process and had the approval of the remaining meta mods. Though I would dispute being in a hurry. I got the process started but there's a lot of things that are easier when you're not in a position of authority
    – Journeyman Geek
    Commented Dec 2, 2019 at 15:51
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    I did a double take on the transcript being reproduced. I thought it was from the TL. My heart skipped a few beats on the idea of transcript transparency!
    – anongoodnurse
    Commented Dec 3, 2019 at 3:37

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