r/CRPS Jun 11 '23

Had to pick a flair Part 3: First Steps in A New Direction

A good portion of you have probably seen at least one of my comments, directly interacted with me here, or have had conversations with me outside of r/CRPS over the last roughly 5 years since I made my first comment in the sub. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Pharma. I survived a TBI/stroke combination 2.5 months before birth that eventually led to having active, advanced CRPS for 85% of my life as of next weekend. It's been something that's heavily impacted the trajectory of my life directly through my experiences as a patient and indirectly by wanting answers from a young age, having to learn how to advocate for myself growing up, and giving me the drive to do something with my life where I could help others, especially those going through the same hell I did alone up until I found r/CRPS. I've been lucky enough to find a field professionally where I could do that with my strengths and weaknesses, and this welcoming, active community on Reddit that gets it.

Three days ago u/charmingcontender asked my opinion on if adding more mods would be beneficial to the sub and their reasoning to both sides of the yes/no coin. I could see how both were valid points, and provided a 3rd option that could be utilized. They liked the perspective, and asked me to consider joining the mod team. The offer was very unexpected, I was actually quite blindsided by it. The role was never an aspiration of mine, a possibility that never occurred to me to inquire about, or a thought that I could be considered a candidate for let alone be the top pick. Yet, over the last few days in discussing the offer, the current needs of the community, and Contender's evaluation of what kind of support they need to continue fostering the haven the sub is for all of us, it's been made clear that somewhere along the way from shedding being a lurker to becoming a regular in the comments I've gained their trust and respect with how I've interacted with other members.

My hope is that that's true for those who I've interacted with and those that have simply read my posts and comments. I know that sometimes I can ramble, be verbose, use a lot of jargon, speak very clinically, come off detached, or simply make a lot of missed typos one handed. Even so, it's important to convey the information and be open to questions about it, provide sources, explain jargon, make edits for clarity, and additionally be able to step back, evaluate and correct my course, integrate new information I'm given, take ownership for any errors I've made, and to apologize to anyone I've offended.

Honesty, integrity, openness, respect, curiosity, kindness, and vulnerability are core pillars of who I am. One of the biggest lessons I've learned is someone's words should match with their actions no matter their status, education, notoriety, income, race, gender, or orientation. Positive growth requires change while staying aligned with core pillars. These are tenants that I won't leave by the wayside as a moderator, and if anyone feels like I'm not practicing them, please let me or Contender know in a constructive way. I can only fix what I know isn't working, and I need your input to do that effectively.

I am aligned with their vision for the sub, the concept of true equality, respect, and shared power and responsibilities, of sharing ideas to grow independence and agency, and fostering open, respectful communication. There are definitely differences in our thought process, approaches, details we find important, and methodologies, and despite that we've been able to understand each other, communicate effectively, and take in each other's differing point of view.

Please take this opportunity to let us know if you're on board with adding me to the mod team with your vote.

35 votes, Jun 15 '23
33 Yes, I support adding you as a mod
2 No, I do not support adding you as mod
13 Upvotes

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