It’s not the power, it’s having to walk away from something you so carefully tended for so long. Like a difficult-to-grow but spectacular-looking garden.The actual day-to-day running is grueling, thankless; We get a lot of abuse and only the occasional note of gratitude. Day in and day out, no days off.

But damn, the way that garden looks? It’s fucking worth it. Glorious. And so many happy people wandering through it, appreciating what you’ve helped to produce.

At least for my subreddit, I’ve seen the kind of stuff submitted by folks who say “I could mod this sub better” and it’s clear they have no background in Art History. The worst of the worst. Photos that your grandma wouldn’t post to Facebook much less try to pass off as “this looks like a painting”. Meanwhile, the mod team has degrees in the art field. Some of us even dabbled in helping professors as undergrads.

Walking away would mean seeing our carefully tended garden taken over by dandelions and the dumbass holding the Miracle-Gro sprayer would say, “See? I got rid of all those difficult plants and now it’s so much better!!” and the orchids and heirloom roses are deader than doornails.

Trust me, we’ve all burned out over the years.

But you probably wouldn’t understand unless you like tending to very finicky plants.

Or you’re a mod.