Over the last month, Stack Overflow has violated its own policies
and precedents to cause egregious and unnecessary harm to me -- to my
reputation (personal and professional), to my health, and to my safety.
**This harm is significant and ongoing.** It is past time for the company
to correct its errors, repair what can be repaired, and move toward a
spirit of working with rather than against its users and volunteers.

Whereas:

1. The company [removed me **without due process or warning**](https://judaism.meta.stackexchange.com/q/5193/472) and ignored
procedures it already had in place, which [an executive admitted
to](https://meta.stackexchange.com/q/334551/162102), and did so in the
midst of a discussion between me and a community manager to understand the new
Code of Conduct (which was [previously
unclear](https://meta.stackexchange.com/a/336146/162102)); and
2. A representative of the company **violated longstanding privacy
policies** by immediately (within seconds) announcing my firing to a
large audience, denying me the standard privacy afforded to subjects of
such discipline; and
3. A director, speaking for the company, **posted on various resignation
announcements** ([example](https://meta.stackoverflow.com/a/389908/922300)), [clearly referring to me](https://judaism.meta.stackexchange.com/a/5197/472),
in a way that **maligns my character and violates the Code of Conduct**; and
4. Company representatives violated common corporate practice of not
commenting to the media (now
[codified](https://meta.stackexchange.com/a/335749/162102)) by **speaking
with The Register to further malign my character, paint me as a bigot, and
make unsubstantiated claims**; and
5. A company representative made an
**[official post on Meta](https://web.archive.org/web/20191223172246/https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/334248/an-update-to-our-community-and-an-apology)**
accusing me of "repeatedly violating our existing Code of Conduct and
being unwilling to accept our CM's repeated requests to change that
behavior", a claim that has never been substantiated, and **featured the
post across the network** where it was prominent for 77 hours; and
6. Representatives of the company including executives, a director,
and the Community Management team have **failed to respond to my repeated
requests** to be shown these alleged violations and warnings and, more broadly,
my requests for discussion to find a mutually-agreeable resolution to
the situation; and
7. Company **claims of an urgent need** to act before resolving the ongoing
discussion, despite my having left the Teachers' Lounge nine days earlier
and otherwise behaving normally across the network, have never been
substantiated; and
8. The new **reinstatement process is
[unacceptable in my case](https://meta.stackexchange.com/a/336236/162102)**
because my removal did not follow the paired removal process (or any
process), the reinstatement process proceeds from a presumption of a
legitimate guilty finding, and I cannot appeal charges that have
*never been communicated to me*; and
9. The issue I asked about has [now been **confirmed to comply** with the
new CoC](https://meta.stackexchange.com/a/336381/162102);

Therefore I call on Stack Overflow and its individual representatives
to:

1. **Retract** all of the negative statements about me described above,
publicize that retraction to all places where the original claims were
made or are known to have spread, and to the best of its ability **clear
my name**; and
2. **Reverse** the original decision, restoring me to my position without
prejudice. The model here must be akin to declaring a mistrial, not
akin to an application for early parole.

Stack Overflow is a private company and its representatives are free to treat users badly. **They can ignore #2** if they do not value fairness,
respectfulness, and diversity; that is their right. However, **they
must address #1**, and given the many errors that got us here, they *should* address #2.

My patience is not infinite; the company has already dragged this out for
nearly a month while harm continues to accrue. It is past time for a
meaningful response. I remain available to discuss the matter. Please
prioritize resolving this ongoing, painful, damaging situation in the very near future.

---

Responses to questions:

* This question is addressed to Stack Overflow. I posted it here because I have exhausted all known *private* communication channels available to me short of legal proceedings. I would have preferred a private conversation, which I have asked for repeatedly. I remain open to that option.
* I am willing to sign an agreement in which they address #1 (in ways to be specified) and I agree not to litigate. I had already assumed that would be part of any settlement. I assume lawyers on both sides will be involved in writing and reviewing this agreement.
* I understand that some people have felt hurt by things I said in TL. Causing hurt was never my intention. Some of those same people have hurt me in TL too. Calm, clear communication about these hurts has not always happened. We all need to work on improving the TL dynamic. I withdrew from TL to avoid further problems in both directions.
* Moderators (who do not also participate in TL) work almost exclusively with people on our own sites. When we work with company representatives it's with community managers. The community managers are not the ones who've acted badly here; I don't see why those working relationships would be damaged in the future.
* If Stack Overflow had *merely* fired me unjustly, I would have walked away by now. However, they also damaged me with their public statements and that will follow me around for years. In addition to the harm they have already caused, I fully expect this to have effects the next time I seek new employment.

---

Starting points if you're looking for background: [Stack Overflow Inc., sinat chinam, and the goat for Azazel](https://judaism.meta.stackexchange.com/q/5193/472), [Firing mods and forced relicensing: is Stack Exchange still interested in cooperating with the community?](https://meta.stackexchange.com/q/333965/162102).