Fairway Frank got bored of golf, I guess.

Thank you, and yes, you’re right. That’s why I don’t post about things that will upset me, I was just desperate for some advice and support for the terrible disease with which I’d just been diagnosed. I (stupidly) assumed I could be relatively safe posting in a sub specifically dedicated to supporting people with a disease, but even the leader of the group can’t be reasonable, which is really too bad. I’ve acclimated to having this disease now, and I’m confident I can get the help I need, so I know I won’t be bothered by the opinion of an ignorant internet person anymore. But I’m obviously still bitter enough to complain about it somewhere else lol.

I’ve been sick for a really long time, and I finally got diagnosed with Lupus, based on blood labs and symptoms, but the rheumatologist I’d seen was a jerk, so I asked in the reddit Lupus sub if what I’d experienced was OK, or if I should find a new doctor. Well, the mod decided that I didn’t really have a diagnosis, because they didn’t understand what I’d said, and kept DMing me to tell me that I didn’t have Lupus, and shouldn’t be receiving treatment for it. I know I shouldn’t listen to randos on the internet, especially a Reddit mod, but it made me scared that I wasn’t going to finally get the help I so desperately needed.

My doctor has continued to help me, and I’m very thankful that the idiot power-tripping mod was wrong, but it really messed me up for a few weeks, and it still bothers me that someone who runs a support group for a serious illness uses it to try to have power over vulnerable people, just to make themselves feel better. And reddit lets them; you can’t block mod-mail, so after asking multiple times to be left alone, I finally got mad and swore at the mod, so they reported me for harassment, and reddit baned my whole account for 3 days, even though it was clear who was being harassed, because it was all there in writing. I have never been back to reddit, and I don’t miss it at all.

I really appreciate when people announce what they hate, so I can expect exactly that from them. Really helps out with those social cues. “Yes, Brenda, we know you hate drama; sucks that it follows you around like a fart cloud. I’m sure it was the dog.”