Hello all,

We have recently had an issue where a mod removed a post discussing a person’s experiences dealing with racism in dating and the trauma that has caused. In the wake of that removal, we have received a lot of helpful criticism and feedback from you all.

I would like to confirm that the post has been restored and mods have discussed what went wrong there and how we need to be more sensitive to the needs of BIPOC members here. Some of you all may not know me because I tend to do more behind-the-scenes work, but I was actually brought on as a BIPOC moderator because the team wanted help addressing the issues that BIPOC have faced here.

I’m only one person though and we need more moderators in general (especially those identifying as BIPOC).

Therefore, if you’re interested in being a moderator here and you have the time, energy, and empathy needed for the job, we ask that you respond to the following questions (which are from previous mod applications developed by u/thewayofxen) in a private modmail message to the mods:

  1. What Reddit username do you browse /r/CPTSD with?
  2. What timezone do you live in? Also let us know if you're a night owl.
  3. What is your race/ethnic background and gender?
  4. Why do you want to become a moderator of /r/CPTSD?
  5. What about you would make you a good moderator?
  6. What about you would make being a moderator challenging? (We expect most applicants be in recovery from CPTSD, so please be more specific!)
  7. What, if anything, would you like to see change about /r/CPTSD? What would you like to stay the same?
  8. What, if anything, would you like to see change about /r/CPTSD? What would you like to stay the same?
  9. Anything else you want to add?

Helpful notes from previous mod applications posts by u/thewayofxen:

Being a moderator on /r/CPTSD is essentially a part-time volunteer gig, and the exact workload it demands varies week to week, but usually totals only a few to several hours per week. Applicants should carefully consider the effect becoming a moderator will have on their recovery, and the effect their recovery will have on being a moderator. The ideal applicant will be:

  • Very good at written communication, with a lot of experience in online communities.
  • Far along in recovery, with a good degree of self-awareness and mindfulness.
  • Comfortable with confrontation, without being especially prone to it (this is a tough balancing act and we're not expecting perfection).
  • A regular user of the subreddit who is willing to check in at least a once or twice per day, most days.
  • Capable of handling feedback and gentle criticism.
  • A good teammate.
  • Capable of not taking on too much responsibility for what goes on here. If you were to find yourself sucked in, scouring every single post for rule violations, losing sleep because someone somewhere might be hurt by a comment, you would not survive this position.
  • Resilient. Moderators will be unfairly called a dictator, a Nazi, or any number of synonyms for "asshole," and they have to let that roll off without reacting. They have to be willing to use soft power, and to know the difference between someone refusing to abide by the rules and someone who's just mouthing off to save face. Moderators of mental health subreddits in particular need to know how to deal with someone who's triggered without allowing their own triggers to take over. This takes a lot of emotional labor, and is the hardest part of being a moderator (in my experience, anyway). Moderators also have to read the worst the subreddit has to offer, including angry, offensive, or disgusting posts, and they have to respond to them impartially. (This is another thing for which we can't expect perfection.)

Since that last one was such a downer, here are some upsides to being a moderator:

  • People say 'Thank you' to us a lot here.
  • Your work facilitates an immense amount of healing, even if you never directly participate.
  • We face interesting interpersonal problems that can teach you a lot about people and about yourself. For the right person, being a moderator can be a net-positive for your recovery.
  • This probably looks really good on a resume (just don't dox yourself).
  • Every once in a while, someone so flagrantly and openly breaks the rules that you will not have even an ounce of doubt in your mind about whether that person should be banned, and then you get to ban them. That feels good. If you've ever felt helpless at seeing such a comment stand for however long it takes a moderator to show up, if you become a moderator, that time automatically drops to "0".

If I haven't scared you off yet, please respond to the questions above in a private modmail message to the team. I expect to get between several and a shit-ton of applications, so please send a message with zero expectation of a response. We'll be sifting through them over the next couple weeks and we'll let you know if we'd like to bring you on.

Thanks!

u/itchmyrustycage