I'm stepping down as moderator

Question

I recently stepped down as Moderator on Pets with some sadness, but overall knowing it was the right decision.

Being part of Pets when it first launched and putting many hours of contributions into the site it feels a little like a baby to me (and I'm sure many other users). When I first came back after a hiatus, the chat room was a ghost town, it had been a bustling hive of activity and sometimes disagreement. It's often the case, after the initial flourish of activity when a site launches that things quieten down.

Dragging people from other sites into our chat room and trying to tempt people with horse and other pet pics, gradually our chat room grew and our community participation felt more cohesive.

We also welcomed Henders and Rebecca to our moderation team and things kept looking up.

The main thing lacking on the site now is getting more answers on questions. That's something I can do without being a moderator.

With the new influx of people over the past couple of years, I think it's time one of the "older" users stepped down to give the newer, fresher community opportunity to step up. We have our elder statesmen, James Jenkins, wisely overseeing things and I want to take the opportunity to thank him for all his years of service to our site.

In saying that, it doesn't mean they will replace me as a moderator, but it does mean I will carry less authority and can just relax and be one of many. Allow the site to develop without feeling the need to shape it. Well done to our fantastic moderator team and close knit community. Onwards and upwards. My only hope for this site is that our chat room remains alive and a welcoming place for people to come and share their pets and that this bustle spills into our main site.

P.S. Don't forget to pin a daily pet! Or you may end up with a daily horse! :D

^{Paddy the brumby sends his love}

Answer 1

Thanks for all of your efforts over the years, Yvette! We've been extremely lucky that you've shared with us your extensive knowledge and expertise for such a long time now and long may it continue.

When RebeccaRVT and I joined both you and James helped us enormously in settling in and learning the ropes. I want to thank you for all the effort you've put in and the investment you've made to our community. You've done a huge amount for the community (most of it not even public) and we all appreciate it :)

Looking forward to chatting in the Litter Box and more fantastic horse pictures. Now go and enjoy mopping up Stack Overflow!