This is a continuation of the ideas presented here.
We've got some momentum here and I'd like to keep that going. So - where we left off, the consensus seemed to be mostly agreeable to Magnus' proposal, but a couple of comments on undue complexity. There were also some discussions in SSSC about an option that never really made it to the table, so I'd like to take this opportunity to present what I saw as the two most popular solutions here.
Both of these assume that the returning staff member is in good standing - we can discuss what that means, if necessary, but I feel that "good standing" as a statement should be fairly easy to discern.
Retirement
- If you haven't contributed to O5, SSSC, or some other staff function of some variety for six months, you are considered "inactive". Inactive staff can retain their site permissions, but are not considered acting "as staff" until they're "active" again. To become "active" you have to do….something productive. Make an O5 post that isn't frivolus, crit something, attend a meeting. Do something useful.
- If you've been "inactive" for six months, you become automagically "retired". Retired staff should be returned to regular site member permissions (barring special circumstances), and should follow the above policy.
- If you completely ignore a promotions vote twice, you're automagically "retired" with the same provisions.
I think this is good is a good and consistent definition. I didn't see any real disagreement with this, so I'm going to propose that as the new definition for retired for both proposals below.
The first is a modified version of Magnus' proposal - cutting out some of the more complicated bits -
Returner Trial Period
- If staff of the relevant levels (JS on their team, OS on their team, all of the mods, all of the admins) believe that a staff member has been absent for long enough to warrant it, For any returning retired staff, a "trial period" shall be instated for six weeks to evaluate the returner's fitness to be staff in the current site culture. At the end of the trial period, it's at the discretion of the relevant group to either reinstate to their previous rank, or remit them to a lower rank depending on fitness.
- In order to instate a trial period, an O5 thread must be provided for the relevant staff to vote on the trial period. For a returning OS, their team votes on their trial period. For returning mods, all moderators and above may vote. For returning admins, all admins may vote. This vote must be public, and be allowed to present significant objections by any staff member.
- If the vote passes in favor, the user in question shall be remitted to Junior staff on the relevant team for six weeks, and demonstrate good-faith adaptation to the site culture and workflow to be a successful staff member. At the end of six weeks, a second vote will be taken in order to decide whether or not the user shall be reinstated to their previous rank. If this vote fails, the user will be remitted to JS, or if felt appropriate, removed from JS. If the vote passes, they will be reinstated to their previous rank with all relevant duties and privileges.
Edit: Given that we have set out the conditions on retirement, I have updated the initial bullet to reflect Tuomey's comments.
The second is much simpler:
Return everyone as Operational Staff
- Any returning retired (non-JS) staff member is placed at the Operational Staff Level upon their return. No trial period, no vote.
- The relevant Team Captains conduct an interview with the returning candidate to ensure they are fit for service. (Suggested by weizhong, Lazar, and Rock)
This discussion is open to OS and above, and JS with captain permission.
(account deleted)