As of today, I am no longer on Fur Affinity staff. Resigning from my position wasn't an easy decision, and I will miss working with the awesome team running this show, but if there is one truth in life, it is that sometimes you have to look after yourself first. And sometimes, standing up for what you believe in will hurt. It is certainly true for me, now. I was originally going to step down in about a month and a half, but outside factors came into play that accelerated those plans.

I have left staff on good terms, and if circumstances change in the future, far as I'm concerned I'm open to the idea of rejoining the team. There were multiple factors playing into this decision, and I'm not going to be able to go into detail on all of them due to NDA and/or site policy, but the quick run-down is this:

# As of 27 January 2018, I would have donated five years of my life to Fur Affinity. That's a long time to be volunteering for the primary reward of a job well done. I don't regret the time I've spent, but I have to recognize that it's a significant portion of my life and it may be time to move on for that reason alone.

# Some aspects of internal policy go against my grain, and I am not comfortable standing for those decisions. I have good reasons for my position, others have good reasons for theirs, the two are simply irreconcilable and no available compromise would alleviate my concerns sufficiently for me to feel okay about this.

# I have had significant amounts of venom aimed at me both on Fur Affinity itself and on social media. It's taken the form of malicious rumors, smear campaigns, misrepresentation, and petty potshots at my identity, such as deliberate misgendering. At times, this has risen to levels where my partners have expressed concern for my safety. While I am aware that the people spreading this vitriol are a small subset of Fur Affinity's userbase, it's the absolutely ugliest side of this job, and when it starts affecting my loved ones, it's crossed yet one more line.

# Similar to the above, it is starting to strain my patience to the breaking point to see users and former users (some the same as above, some different) who malign staff in general, or particular colleagues, over administrative action or just because hating on Fur Affinity staff is the cool thing to do this week. This is something that has brought me to the verge of quitting not once, not twice, but three times over my time as staff, and something I hope a future generation of furries will have better manners than to perpetuate.

# Yet another aspect of the above, there is a small but vocal subset of users (and some people who don't even use FA) who feel that the correct response to disagreeing with site rules, site staff, or administrative action, is to launch a fully-fledged shitstorm on social media. This is a persistent pattern that has been in play pretty much as long as I've been on staff (and likely longer), but it's grown increasingly toxic over the last year or so. Subjecting Dragoneer, Fur Affinity, and FA staff to trial by social media every time you don't get your way is bully tactics at their lowest, and I don't have the power to change this. Make no mistake, however, that the people who engage in this are being bullies, and evidently have no qualms about twisting the truth or outright lying in their virtue signaling.

# I may not be able to legally volunteer the amount of time required to perform Fur Affinity staff duties, should I be granted disability status, due to the way Swedish disability pay is structured. It's pretty ridiculous, given that the conditions that make Fur Affinity moderation a task I can perform are not conditions I can reasonably expect to find in a workplace, but it's still a concern I have to take into account.

A huge thank you to my colleagues of these past five years. I've come to value all of you, and I will miss working with you dearly. Also thank you to the users who've been courteous in your interactions with staff - the positive reactions and the people who're willing to own their mistakes and better themselves are the absolute best side of the job, and all that has kept me going at times.

I volunteered for five years because I wanted to help. I wanted to take part in improving communication and holding people to the rules they agreed to when they joined the site. I like to think I have done that at least in some small way.

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

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For a follow-up, see this journal where I discuss the emotional impact of both my resignation and the way I was treated on social media