Some online communities, are bad for autistic people...

[Lemon Zing]

OK. I won't be talking about that Aussie creep anymore. He's really not even worth dwelling on anyway. The kangaroos will do boxing on him.

However, what do you think of forums on the Internet in general? Do you gain any benefits from posting on them, or do you think the members are cold and not nice?

I decided that today, I will retire from forums. Like, maybe I will once in a blue moon, say something about a new game if I think it's safe to go ahead and do so. But hell, this won't be a daily thing for me in my life anymore. Like for example, I make a lot of threads talking about how Capcom has trashed their own Resident Evil series with their dumb ideas. Yet nobody listens. It's like, they don't want to bite the hand that feeds them. So why even talk about it at all, right? Like, just from this thread here on these gaming forums, you can just tell they see me as the bad guy, when I just know that Capcom is milking the franchise. However, it's like so pointless these days, so why do I even bother?

But yeah. I reckon a lot of you probably feel the same way. Another problem is that some users are biased, or they think you're delusional. Well, why is that? You're clearly unhappy with a gaming franchise because you've been following it for years, and nowadays, you can see they're kind of just wrecking it, while at the same time, expecting you to hand them over money you may work hard for. It's unacceptable.

Who deserves credit more? Shinji Mikami or Capcom? - Resident Evil Village

Paul Lee, over and out.

 

[Streetwise]

There isn't any forum that's good for people with the label autism run by people who have the label autism or no

 

[SDRSpark]

Many of them (both forums such as this one and those on social media platforms) can be quite toxic (this is a good one, but many are not). I've run into that quite a bit. It's disconcerting when you think you've found a good place to interact and then you are caught completely off guard by some rumphead and find that a decent number of people actually back that person and suddenly you're getting ganged up on.

I've found it's best to feel a place out and watch for a while before I start really interacting in a space. There are a few I feel really comfortable in (this is one) but most I don't.

 

[Wolfsage]

Outside of this site. I don't post online.
Heard too many bad things about the others. And what people do to those they don't like.

 

[Misery]

It's the internet. It's not a good place for most people.

Everyone goes into it thinking it's this safe thing because it's behind a screen and you're in your nice safe bedroom or whatever, but that's not how it freaking works.

I've been on the Net since it started, and yeah, I can tell ya: It's not a safe, happy place. Sometimes you get nice little outposts like this one that dont suck, but most of the time, the Net is just a bastion of lies and chaos.

As for the specific forum you linked to, I must respectfully say: Dude, it's freaking GameFAQs. OF COURSE it's a cesspool. It always has been! It aint the place to go for gaming talk, particularly as the amount of corporate-defenders on there is quite high. It's the place to go to read guides, nothing more. Avoid the forums.

Well, that and the gaming community in a general sense is infamous for being a little toxic.

You're clearly unhappy with a gaming franchise because you've been following it for years, and nowadays, you can see they're kind of just wrecking it, while at the same time, expecting you to hand them over money you may work hard for. It's unacceptable.

I'll say the same thing I always say when it comes to gaming topics of this nature: vote with your wallet. These companies arent going to stop playing the evil predator role until people stop feeding them. Go look elsewhere for gaming experiences. Heck, I've been a gamer since I was 3 (or so I'm told, I dont actually remember being 3), but I havent bought a single AAA game in probably... er... well the last one I bought was Diablo 3 when that released. Quite awhile ago. I dont buy AAA anymore, and good freaking riddance. Why pay $60 for predatory, broken awfulness when I can pay $10 for something that I end up loving? I could rant on and on about this bit but this topic aint the place to do so.

But I will say, over on GameFAQs, that aint the place to discuss that, or the place to discuss how a given franchise has been wronged, because that "corporate defender" mindset is very, very strong there. There's just no arguing with people who have been duped that hard.

Honestly the only place I go for gaming-based discussion is Steam itself. It's easy to find people on there who have similar thoughts and interests to yourself. Even if it's a little confusing at first to navigate since it's not exactly structured like a normal forum (well, since it ISNT a normal forum).


But anyway, in an overall sense: There's no reason to avoid the internet altogether, or avoid talking about subjects you are into, simply because you had a couple of bad experiences. Take it from someone who has been doing this for like 25+ years: you just gotta learn, improve, and keep moving on. The Internet may be chaotic, but... places like this still do exist on it. Just gotta learn to be careful, and choose things wisely.

 

[Streetwise]

Just to reiterate there is no !!!!! forum whatsoever!!!!!! that's good!!!! it's (the word forum)an invite to be abused.

 

[Judge]

Just to reiterate there no !!!!! forum whatsoever!!!!!! that's good!!!! it's (the word forum)an invite to be abused.

In most cases for autistic people I suspect this is closer to the truth. Where you're far more likely to stumble onto a predatory online situation much like "Lord of the Flies".

 

[WildCat]

My opinion? Stay away from poorly maintained and moderated online forums or communities. The unfortunate truth is that some people are "wearing a mask", and the internet is a great place for them to express their vitriol.

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

I would rather meet people in person, hopefully soon.

 

[Sherlock77]

One automotive forum I used to be on had quite strict rules, and enforced

Premise: We are here to enjoy and talk about our British cars (I was a member who didn't own one)

Rule 1) No flaming... Strictly enforced

Rule 2) No religious topics (in what is called "The Pub")

Rule 3) No political topics either

I happen to know that the forum owner and founder of that site is devout Catholic, so yes he has views on things... I've discovered through other experiences that religious and political talk is the most divisive of anything I have encountered... And I am an active Christian myself

Basically on any of my social media I am very careful with both of those topics

 

[Katsuragi]

Though i'm aware of quite a few forums on nearly all of them i'm nothing more than a lurker. But with one or two i'm more willing to add my general thoughts to the discussion pages if i feel that i have something worth saying while i'm there that day.

 

[harrietjansson]

Many of them (both forums such as this one and those on social media platforms) can be quite toxic (this is a good one, but many are not). I've run into that quite a bit. It's disconcerting when you think you've found a good place to interact and then you are caught completely off guard by some rumphead and find that a decent number of people actually back that person and suddenly you're getting ganged up on.

I've found it's best to feel a place out and watch for a while before I start really interacting in a space. There are a few I feel really comfortable in (this is one) but most I don't.

many people on this forum seem to be "aspies vs NTs". Personally, I don't even believe in something called NT as it is not a homogeneous group at all. Not that aspies are a homogeneous group at all.
It's so complex

 

[harrietjansson]

My opinion? Stay away from poorly maintained and moderated online forums or communities. The unfortunate truth is that some people are "wearing a mask", and the internet is a great place for them to express their vitriol.

you want a moderated forum. There is one forum (without moderators or poorly moderated) which allowed a person to film a live video of a him commiting suicide. I heard about it in radio documentary.

 

[Vindicator Phoenix]

I think this forum's a very nice place: one of the best I've ever found.

I post lots on the website, Personality Database (which is why I don't come to AutismForums as often, despite loving this site and many of you lovely people ). The moderators there are also good, and there's a special twist to upvoting and downvoting people's comments.
Here it is: downvoting someone's comment reduces your reputation points, and upvoting someone's comment increases your reputation points.
Perhaps, to you, that might sound like a system that encourages people to pretend we agree with everything. However, here's the encouraged culture: upvote if you agree, or reply with a different opinion if you disagree. That way, dialogue is encouraged, but no one gets rejected for sharing their perspective. However, if someone is rude, one can report them to the moderators.

There are quite a few fellow people on that site who even identify, on our profiles, as having autism. It seems that very few people on that site stigmatize autism. Unfortunately, I have seen stigma once or twice, usually in the form of an insult such as "You're so autistic." I always report comments like that to the moderators, and explain to them why those comments are disrespectful. I forget whether or not the moderators removed the comments I'd reported, because I wasn't tracking what happened to those comments. Nonetheless, I have seen them remove rude comments before, which is good.

Even though Personality Database is a super convenient hub for my special interest of personality typology, I have to say that, on average, people on AutismForums are, on average, less vitriolic than people on Personality Database.

 

[Lemon Zing]

Yes, people do subscribe to me, just to vote me down...