Heyo folks!
The time has come for me to wind down some of my activities here, and so I will be turning in my diamond and resigning as a moderator in a few weeks time. It's... been a year... and a lot has changed. Now that things have started to turn a corner and circumstances have changed in both meat-space and across the network, it's time to lean into new opportunities.
Fear not, the changes are (hopefully) positive! New responsibilities at work, new chances to take on a wider range of topics in my research, and a realization that I should probably spend a little less time in the basement on my computer (work from home is a mixed blessing) all mean it is time to refocus.
Over the next several weeks, I will be jotting down the various ideas bouncing around in my head and still handling the flags like normal. Exact timelines are a little fuzzy, but I expect to formally step down in mid-July. Absolute latest would be end of July, cause I'm going to take a nice vacation in France at the start of August!
When I first started as a moderator, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. My first impression is the same I have now -- y'all do a fantastic job of handling the curation as a community, and the moderators really can step back and act as exception handlers to do things the community cannot. I am amazed at the amount of effort put in by everybody to keep things moving in the right direction.
So, what will I do with my time when I'm no longer deleting comments (honestly my favorite flags to handle -- it's oddly satisfying)? I'm sure few know this, but I used to race bicycles on the velodrome and traveled the country doing it, but ended up putting the bike down while finishing my PhD. In addition to picking up my degree, I picked up an extra 45 lbs // 20 kg. So I plan on spending my extra time away from computers to get out and get back in shape, even if I may not race again soon (I no longer live near a track, unfortunately).
Anyway, between the fantastic community members, the great group of moderators who remain, and the renewed commitment from the company and the CMs (even if it isn't obvious to the outside, they really have stepped up their support), I think Physics.SE is in a good place and headed towards even better ones. I hope y'all keep up the hard work and continue to share the amazing depth of knowledge that makes this community what it is.
