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
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.
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
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