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That's what I hate about the Internet of today, instead of a quiet refuge to take a break from the real world it has become an extension of it.
On the subject of tech...I feel a bit like what the internet gave us at the end of the nineties is now slowly being taken away from us again.The internet was a place where you could be quirky, different and a bit obsessive and nobody really minded. The fact this forum still exists is awesome, but I feel like now there are far fewer spaces for people to interact without encountering the mainstream expectations that make it more difficult to communicate in real life...Social media is all about a few words, lots of pictures, and then there's all the influencing rubbish telling people to be like other people, rather than encouraging them to be themselves. So with pony, I feel like there's a gradual shift away from that diversity that made it so attractive as a community in the first place. I don't say that other platforms shouldn't exist and I'm sure there are people on the spectrum who use them for ponies without any hesitation. But I personally find them difficult or potentially dangerous to navigate, and it worries me that one day we will lose even this space.
My partner has Asperger's, so he totally understands my obsessions with things that others would consider childish. I love how we can just be ourselves around each other.
I re-started collecting in my late 30s after a difficult period in my life and ponies gave me a safe way to get my brain working again when I had almost zero confidence. I agree that this is a very special place and that we are lucky to have it.
Quote from: SpacePinto on October 11, 2020, 08:17:29 AMThat's what I hate about the Internet of today, instead of a quiet refuge to take a break from the real world it has become an extension of it.This.My autistic compulsiveness over detail also can't stand that 90% of ID sites now are constructed by googling other people's sites instead of doing the proper research. I only have respect for ID site people who actually know things about what they're writing, as opposed to just copying it off another site and hoping that it's right.That side of autism is frustrating when it comes to the pony community, because there are still SO MANY mistakes and my little aspie brain cannot stand it.
Having been belittled two or three times for being wordy in my posts, it really has an impact on confidence when you can't say what you want to say clearly the first time around. I don't think it's always understood how much harder it is to communicate a thought or an idea when you are on the spectrum, even if you understand it 100% perfectly yourself, and it sometimes takes a lot more words to try and get it into something someone else will be able to recognise. And the more it is 'in vogue' to write one line and do the rest in pics or emojis (or use tl;dr), the more frustrating it is.
Quote from: dragglereeka on October 11, 2020, 05:28:40 AMMy partner has Asperger's, so he totally understands my obsessions with things that others would consider childish. I love how we can just be ourselves around each other. The best kind of relationship tbh <3
Quote from: Taffeta on October 11, 2020, 10:35:35 AMQuote from: SpacePinto on October 11, 2020, 08:17:29 AMThat's what I hate about the Internet of today, instead of a quiet refuge to take a break from the real world it has become an extension of it.This.My autistic compulsiveness over detail also can't stand that 90% of ID sites now are constructed by googling other people's sites instead of doing the proper research. I only have respect for ID site people who actually know things about what they're writing, as opposed to just copying it off another site and hoping that it's right.That side of autism is frustrating when it comes to the pony community, because there are still SO MANY mistakes and my little aspie brain cannot stand it. So much yes. The rise of social media and the legions of desperate people trying to get %u201Cinternet famous%u201D have really soured my online experience.When I was growing up, it was pounded into your head to %u201Cnever give out your real name or location online!%u201D. Now, everyone just takes it for granted that that information will be visible to any random stranger in a FB group. It%u2019s mind-boggling.Quote Having been belittled two or three times for being wordy in my posts, it really has an impact on confidence when you can't say what you want to say clearly the first time around. I don't think it's always understood how much harder it is to communicate a thought or an idea when you are on the spectrum, even if you understand it 100% perfectly yourself, and it sometimes takes a lot more words to try and get it into something someone else will be able to recognise. And the more it is 'in vogue' to write one line and do the rest in pics or emojis (or use tl;dr), the more frustrating it is.I%u2019m so sorry that happened to you, Taffeta. This especially, I relate to. My posts can be a bit lengthy as well, and I%u2019m very self-conscious about it, to the point of editing and rewriting them to be shorter sometimes. I remember years back, when I was a teenager, I was part of a cosplay forum. It was a big forum, and a lot of people came and went. I%u2019ll always remember one woman who was a bit quirky and wrote very long posts, and who in retrospect I believe was on the spectrum or had a similar condition. She was always very friendly and upbeat, though. A number of people who were fairly prominent in the community at the time basically dogpiled her and just openly mocked her and called her crazy TO HER FACE, IN A PUBLIC FORUM. She was never treated particularly well by the community, but a number of people were just petty and cruel. It was so sad. She eventually just stopped posting and vanished. I always remembered her though, because it all made me feel so angry and depressed. She was treated like garbage because her posts were lengthy and she was passionate about her interests and costumes (in a costuming community, no less...). I didn%u2019t know I was autistic at that time, but I felt enough of a kinship with that person that I felt personally hurt by what happened to her.We live in a world that places so much importance on acceptance and diversity, which is fantastic%u2014but these noble ideals always seem to come up short of accepting neurologically diverse persons. The minute a person acts %u201Coff%u201D or quirky, they%u2019re shunned like we%u2019re living back in the Dark Ages. If you wave a doctor%u2019s note declaring your diagnosis in everyones%u2019 faces, you might get a bit of sympathy or acknowledgment, but that%u2019s it. As human beings, we should always be aware that the people we meet are coming from a wide variety of backgrounds, and that many people have %u201Cneurodiverse %u201C qualities or medical conditions that are invisible to the naked eye.
On the subject of tech...I feel a bit like what the internet gave us at the end of the nineties is now slowly being taken away from us again.The internet was a place where you could be quirky, different and a bit obsessive and nobody really minded. The fact this forum still exists is awesome, but I feel like now there are far fewer spaces for people to interact without encountering the mainstream expectations that make it more difficult to communicate in real life. I know that's a blanket assumption but I don't feel like the spread to social media has helped very much. Online chat is also more challenging because it's all over the place, trying to keep up with all the things going on and react to them is more difficult, while writing on a forum like this, I can think about it, edit it, and hopefully get across what I want to say.Having been belittled two or three times for being wordy in my posts, it really has an impact on confidence when you can't say what you want to say clearly the first time around. I don't think it's always understood how much harder it is to communicate a thought or an idea when you are on the spectrum, even if you understand it 100% perfectly yourself, and it sometimes takes a lot more words to try and get it into something someone else will be able to recognise. And the more it is 'in vogue' to write one line and do the rest in pics or emojis (or use tl;dr), the more frustrating it is.Social media is all about a few words, lots of pictures, and then there's all the influencing rubbish telling people to be like other people, rather than encouraging them to be themselves. So with pony, I feel like there's a gradual shift away from that diversity that made it so attractive as a community in the first place. I don't say that other platforms shouldn't exist and I'm sure there are people on the spectrum who use them for ponies without any hesitation. But I personally find them difficult or potentially dangerous to navigate, and it worries me that one day we will lose even this space.