8

I was a Moderator here once upon a time. During my "reign" I protected this question due to the number of junk answers it was getting. (Ignore, for now, the fact that we probably wouldn't let such a question stay open nowadays.)

I have since resigned as a Moderator. However, when I view that question, I can see the "unprotect" link. I have not seen that link on any other protected questions, so I can only assume that I can see it because I was the user that originally protected it.

I have not followed through to see if I can actually unprotect it, but it seems to me that displaying that link to me is unintended. (Granted, this is an edge case. I mean, how many protected questions are out there that were protected by former Moderators?)

  • I suppose the question is whether never-been-a-mods can unprotect questions they have previously protected. But the privilege of doing so requires 15k rep, so you still shouldn't be able to do it. Good catch. – Matthew Read Apr 18 '13 at 16:04
  • Well, phooey. I didn't realize that mere mortals could protect questions. (Not paying as much attention on Meta SO as I thought.) This may very well be intended then. I could see someone protecting a question and then having a couple of bounties remove the priv from them, requiring Moderator intervention for their previously protected questions. (Assuming "Protection" is ideally supposed to be a temporary measure.) – ale Apr 18 '13 at 16:08
5

This is by design. A protected question can only be unprotected by the original user who protected it, or a moderator.

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