[erikpukinskis]

This reminds me of a powerful skill we could probably use a bit more of in this day and age:

Recognize when you're just the flashpoint for someone's anger, not the cause of it, and don't take it personally.

Abuse shouldn't be tolerated of course. But sometimes you're just the straw that broke the camel's back. And in those moments, if you can let yourself off the hook, and realize that there is a bigger issue going on, you can often redirect the conversation toward that bigger issue.

Maybe if OP spent less time defending himself, less time taking the complaints personally, and more time just commiserating with people about the changes in the JavaScript community and how we should deal with them... maybe those interactions would've gone better and he'd be less burnt out.

I realize this is victim blaming, from the perspective of someone who was just bullied. So, please don't take this as a critique of OP. It's just a path I am trying to keep in mind.