the details aren’t super important and i’m not going to go into particular depth here but, in summary: i am on break. the burnout is quite bad. the “avalanche analogy” is pretty apt for what i’m dealing with here.
if you’ve never heard the “avalanche analogy” before, it is this: no individual snowflake is the problem, but the accumulation in an avalanche is still catastrophic.
individually, nothing i have dealt with so far―technical stuff, users, situations, arguments on here, etc.―have been issues that make me want to not use the site. the accumulation though is currently unbearable, even on this fairly small size. effectively all the time i―or any other admin, for that matter―am on here, i am being constantly paged with things to handle; people to sort out and placate; content to remove; bug issues to delegate; and all while having hundreds of people make contradictory suggestions to me i have to make sense of, balance, and generally hear nonstop while being expected to act like a service worker. it’s pretty draining!
accordingly, i have not logged in for about a week (or really done anything with the site, for that matter) and even thinking about it is exhausting. so things aren’t great. it’s pretty clear i need to extensively step back―which i’ve already been doing because i’d like to actually, eventually use the site i help co-run here again. i don’t feel good about just dipping without saying anything longer than i already have though, hence this post.
i’d ideally like to be back sometime next week, but i obviously can’t promise that. it’ll happen when it happens. please do not page me in the mean time with site stuff―it will be ignored.
thanks
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Given the recent events as well as the general surge of new users joining Beehaw and the wider lemmyverse in general…I don’t blame you.
Take as much time as you need to take care of yourself and recharge yourself. Self-care is important.
Good job at identifying that you need rest. I historicallly have been so bad at that.
Please go away (gently) and don’t think about us. Nothing that happens here is more important than your health.
Get some rest! Hopefully when you come back the mental load is lighter and things work out, but at the end of the day, none of this is more important than your health and well-being.
Breaks are good, I hope you find peace and refreshment off site. I enjoy reading your posts so I hope at some point you are able to return, but I also can understand if it turns out to be too overwhelming in the end. Thanks for all the work you have done.
Will you make me an admin? I have several qualifications such as open PMs and being the first person to reply here.
Respectfully, I just don’t think this is the right post for this kind of humor.
No.
you have a history of good comments on here and that’s saving you from what would otherwise probably be a permaban. please learn what comedic timing is, man, this is neither funny nor the time nor the place.
Take time for yourself! You guys deserve it. You’ve had a lot on your plate that you didn’t expect.
Please take care of yourself. We seriously appreciate you and everything you’ve done, same goes for all other staff. This past week has immensely stressful across the lemmyverse and no one blames you at all for needing to tap out from all this. A lot of people are expecting lemmy and lemmy instances to be like reddit 2.0, but that’s just not humanly possible. It also feels like lemmy as a software has had it personally out for beehaw… kind of like a murphy’s law situation.
We need to pay our mods! I saw you all make a significant amount per month as an instance from donations, let’s make it go up! maybe you should put a $1/month minimum on the instance for users? This is what will make lemmy better than reddit for sure.
I don’t like that, it has a huge impact on who can and can’t be here. Obviously most working adults can afford a few bucks here and there, but if you are trying to be inclusive removing any kind of monetary barrier is really important. Those on fixed income, minors, and from countries with extremely low wages would have to think twice about chipping in or may not have the means to actually do so even if they had the cash in hand.
I think it’s very important that Beehaw remains free to use. Though I wouldn’t mind if they nagged users a little for donations when needed.
Edit: to be clearer I’m for paying the people who run Beehaw if/when feasible but a mandatory fee is anathema to the purpose of this instance.
I agree with you that a mandatory money barrier would split this community in an unnecessary way. Maybe setting up a patreon account for Beehaw would be a solution? Only those who can and want to afford a monthly payment would participate, but it would create a bit of financial planning stability, contrary to individual one-time donations.
Beehaw already has an Open Collective set up, it works in a similar way to Patreon. you can find it in the sidebar of the home page.
Oh, I wasn’t aware of that. Thanks for the heads up, please ignore my previous comment then. :D
It just seems like the work for the mods is perportional to the user count. I can see maybe making exceptions to the membership fee for certain classes, just mention it in your application. Just a thought
Hey take however much time you need, relax properly and remember that your hard work has not gone unnoticed. You are probably one of the best admins i have seen on social media, ever. You are amazing and deserve some rest!
Thanks for the transparency. You’re a great admin!
You’ve done awesome with this instance. It’s great to hear you’re taking a break and paying attention to burnout - it’s not all on you, so take the time you need to center yourself and get your mojo back. We’ll be waiting, but not in the creepy or stressful way hopefully ^^
Well from the first day I joined it’s been evident how much work you do.
Do whatever you need to do, you’re much appreciated here. :)
It’s great that you’ve recognised the burnout and are taking steps to look after yourself. You’ve done a great job on here, as can be seen by the community that’s sprung up here.
Take all the time you need
It sounds like you need more moderators. Think about it.
all while having hundreds of people make contradictory suggestions to me i have to make sense of, balance, and generally hear nonstop while being expected to act like a service worker
I believe you have already touched on this in previous PSAs but it’s important that everyone here holds Beehaw to a different standard to, say, the traditional social media we have gotten used to over the last decade.
I hold platforms like Twitter to a higher standard because they have hundreds of people who they are paying to run the website, are actively making a profit from it, and it is centralised. I am a lot more vocal about the criticisms I have about the way that site is being run.
However, with Beehaw, it just is not the same. Ultimately it is run by people like you: volunteers, where really this “job” for you needs to be fun first and foremost if this is work you’re doing in your spare time, otherwise we would not have Beehaw at all.
In that sense, I am happy for you to run Beehaw exactly as you see fit and for you to completely ignore any suggestions that are made to you. Hence, I suppose I’ve tried and will continue to try to not to add to the avalanche you describe in your post. Ultimately, I see myself as someone who is tagging along for the ride you are steering.
If it gets to a point where I am no longer comfortable here, or it gets to a point where I am no longer welcome here and I am banned, then so be it. I will move elsewhere on Lemmy. And this is the beauty of decentralisation and the Fediverse and, hopefully, with time, as the technology matures, we will have ever more instances for people to find spaces which suit them rather than hoping to force the admins of existing instances to bend to their will because of a lack of alternative options.
Anyway this is a long way of saying that I think you’re doing a great job and I hope with time the issues you are facing which are affecting your motivation are alleviated.
