Consider this:
Some Harvard-trained physicians, as Dan Ariety wrote, quit medical cancer research (their original passionate interest) to get into Wall Street as investment bankers. They gained influence, they gained money, but lost their dreams.
Kevin Federline, a former backup dancer, got the opportunity to marry Britney Spears. He could move from Fresno, some filthy town in the Central Valley, to Los Angeles almost permanently. He did, and still does, get payment to support the two children he had with Britney. However, this has its psychic costs - Federline got ridiculed for sucking up to Britney. So he tried rapping, acting, etc, and failed in them all because he isn't dancing. And turns out, he quit dancing, too. Now he has to literally live off Britney and lead a quiet, unassuming life.
I believe Aspies also want to be recognised. Aspies I know do want to form a group to feel good with like-minded friends. They want to exert social influence as an intellectual or passionate leader. They also want to change society and live out their potentials. They manifest into the presence of Aspie sites and forums, even including this website.
However, because of autism, because of the lack of social skills, people with autism fail to be recognised. They have lesser social skills to understand other people's needs (including Aspies), they are less likely to interact with others harmoniously and peacefully because they literall have to live within their mental walls, imposed by their autism, and they just simply have a lack of understanding of their very own conditions, not knowing that high-functioning and low-functioning Aspies and Auties share the same challenges - social skill deficit.
I believed in an idea that all organisations should be flat. Hence, in a forum I helped manage, I suggested we should just have a few moderators, that's all. We did that. We also enforced civility in the forum. Activity was hence active amongst all members back then when I managed the forum. But I gave another suggestion, which was never adopted.
I suggested that we should be an interlinked system to blogs with comment options. The management decided to adopt a forum format instead, in the premises that 'forums help create different threads for relevant discussions'. This may have good intentions, but I think, and I still think, blogs offer the opportunity for Aspies to share their views from an individual point of view, with no pressure to post - to either provoke others' views or to conform. He can be himself, and offer his unique ideas. Besides, he can have the option of moderating his blog the way he wants to, to protect his freedom of speech and to maintan civility, on his own terms.
Aspies Central are working hard to resolve this issue, I believe.
Recently, Aspies Central removed the 'Experience' points system, which offers incentives formembers to post more often - but that's it, that was a stressful system that no mod, or Droopy or Ian, should reinstitute. Competition could be fun, but it could be overbearing to certain members here. I speak as a statistical leader of almost all indices in the old experience points system - I am ranked in first or second in almost all counts, from blogs to post count to even thread replies. However, I am unhappy. I have many points, I may be the most active member in AC (and others can attest to this observation), but I feel points do have this unintended consequence of discouraging activity - because the same handful of members will post and lead the standings, while the members down the list do not have the intrinsic motivation to post ideas as and when they like, especially when there is a visible Experience Points system.
A better alternative would be what we do currently - perhaps we just display the post count of every feature we have on AC. That's all. No overall Experience Points system, to dilute the focus away from winning the other members, to create real fun and buzz in our site throughout.
Overall, I think AC are doing well, and so, good job done, Droopy and the rest of AC's management
Some Harvard-trained physicians, as Dan Ariety wrote, quit medical cancer research (their original passionate interest) to get into Wall Street as investment bankers. They gained influence, they gained money, but lost their dreams.
Kevin Federline, a former backup dancer, got the opportunity to marry Britney Spears. He could move from Fresno, some filthy town in the Central Valley, to Los Angeles almost permanently. He did, and still does, get payment to support the two children he had with Britney. However, this has its psychic costs - Federline got ridiculed for sucking up to Britney. So he tried rapping, acting, etc, and failed in them all because he isn't dancing. And turns out, he quit dancing, too. Now he has to literally live off Britney and lead a quiet, unassuming life.
I believe Aspies also want to be recognised. Aspies I know do want to form a group to feel good with like-minded friends. They want to exert social influence as an intellectual or passionate leader. They also want to change society and live out their potentials. They manifest into the presence of Aspie sites and forums, even including this website.
However, because of autism, because of the lack of social skills, people with autism fail to be recognised. They have lesser social skills to understand other people's needs (including Aspies), they are less likely to interact with others harmoniously and peacefully because they literall have to live within their mental walls, imposed by their autism, and they just simply have a lack of understanding of their very own conditions, not knowing that high-functioning and low-functioning Aspies and Auties share the same challenges - social skill deficit.
I believed in an idea that all organisations should be flat. Hence, in a forum I helped manage, I suggested we should just have a few moderators, that's all. We did that. We also enforced civility in the forum. Activity was hence active amongst all members back then when I managed the forum. But I gave another suggestion, which was never adopted.
I suggested that we should be an interlinked system to blogs with comment options. The management decided to adopt a forum format instead, in the premises that 'forums help create different threads for relevant discussions'. This may have good intentions, but I think, and I still think, blogs offer the opportunity for Aspies to share their views from an individual point of view, with no pressure to post - to either provoke others' views or to conform. He can be himself, and offer his unique ideas. Besides, he can have the option of moderating his blog the way he wants to, to protect his freedom of speech and to maintan civility, on his own terms.
Aspies Central are working hard to resolve this issue, I believe.
Recently, Aspies Central removed the 'Experience' points system, which offers incentives formembers to post more often - but that's it, that was a stressful system that no mod, or Droopy or Ian, should reinstitute. Competition could be fun, but it could be overbearing to certain members here. I speak as a statistical leader of almost all indices in the old experience points system - I am ranked in first or second in almost all counts, from blogs to post count to even thread replies. However, I am unhappy. I have many points, I may be the most active member in AC (and others can attest to this observation), but I feel points do have this unintended consequence of discouraging activity - because the same handful of members will post and lead the standings, while the members down the list do not have the intrinsic motivation to post ideas as and when they like, especially when there is a visible Experience Points system.
A better alternative would be what we do currently - perhaps we just display the post count of every feature we have on AC. That's all. No overall Experience Points system, to dilute the focus away from winning the other members, to create real fun and buzz in our site throughout.
Overall, I think AC are doing well, and so, good job done, Droopy and the rest of AC's management
