It seems that you read more than I wrote. In no way did I ask, "why dont you keep doing it". In fact, I said that it should be no problem finding a straw man. Your initial post, however, listed 'financial' as the first reason to give it up, and that caused the skepticism. The more complete answer seems to validate that money is NOT the real reason, or even the top 5!
Im sorry that you are having a rough time with this task just now. Every care giver needs a break every now and then. IF the issue was purely financial, then clearly there are several of us that would pitch in. Hopefully, you can delegate some of the moderating or other less happy tasks to others, even for a little while so that you can catch your breath.
Im also sorry that some of us on the forum are arguing that their voices are being silenced. For what it is worth, I have found that thefora has been quite tolerant. Personally, I have a very few people that I dont even bother to read, so I applaud your tenacity to keep up with everything! Only recently we have put one of those 'participants' in 'time out'. It could be argued that that person should have been banned, so that they were not banned is an indication that you are not 'silencing anyone's voice' more than imposing a standard of 'manners' and decorum in this academic (polite) community! So you and the other moderators have been far more understanding and accommodating than some participants deserve! My only suggestion (which is why I would make a terrible replacement) would be to stop arguing, block them and move on to better things!
As for being pre tenure and barely staying afloat, I am also sorry that you are having those feelings. The Fall term is coming to an end (4-5 weeks away) and then you should have a month of no classes to catch your breath/dedicate some time to the tasks that have been put off. You dont say what tasks are most looming or worrying, so the advice that would be best is hard to offer.
IF you can afford to not teach summers, I hope that you take this summer off. For both of these times, set a schedule for every week that includes a wake up time, a time to exercise every day, and a time to have some fun! Keep the work time limited to 4 hours a day (same time every day), but every day keep that schedule. At the end of the four hours, stop what you are doing! That way you will be eager to get back to that task the next day! Four hours wont get you too tired to make mistakes and will let you work effectively. Make sure that you make time to be around other people, somehow, somewhere.
Anyway, I appreciate the more thorough answer. Im sorry that you read more than I typed, but there was certainly something left out of the original message.
Finally (and not because you prompted it), I do want to express my appreciation for keeping this community active. While I would not miss everyone, I would miss most of the people that participate. That would not have happened without you and the other volunteers that do the work to moderate the boards, keep out the bots, and know what to do to fix the errors in a timely manner!
