Is WP the only message board you feel comfortable on?

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There have been 3 forums where I have felt fairly free to express myself. 2 of them exist no more, although one of them has been replaced. The third is WP.

Don't remind me

Last edited by Skilpadde on 12 Feb 2014, 8:10 am, edited 1 time in total.

I was on another forum where there is a "secret" forum only used to laugh at and mock posters anonymously, every so often someone will run across it and post in shock.

The board is good, but don't ever post personal problem issues or stuff like that there. The regulars seem to like it.

There are umber of forums I like, some of which are kinder to me than WP. I just ignore the occasional rude reply... they're inevitable. The "NTs and everyone I don't agree with are stupid mindless peons" here isn't exactly pleasant, you know.

As long as its not flame on. Vile site that was.

Oh I don't think someone disagreeing with a person makes them a moron and I don't think someone being NT makes them a moron either, I think being a bully does make someone a moron though and I feel perfectly justified in saying so

Although can see how some here don't like NTs...they can and do tend to bully and can also be down right abusive, especially towards those who are different to them. I suspect it is that that mostly fuels all the bad feelings. It does in my case, I know that much.

If they were not so damned nasty towards people and arrogant in their assumption that they are some how superior becuase they got smacked with the 'normal' gene (whatever the f**k that is) I wouldn't have a problem with NT's at all (regardless of whether or not I am NT myself).

i used to post on another asperger site before i joined this one, and it was more cohesive than WP. that site died unfortunately.
it was hosted by a person called "mark winter" and one of it's major moderators and bastions of well considered support was a man called "BK_G". i was known as "xb-70" on that site and i was a member of it for 5 years.

everyone who posted got responded to. there were just enough members to make the site lively, but not so many as to drown out the voices of more reserved or less eloquent posters.

it was a bit like a family. i often thought up stuff to post in the evening to that site, and it was always well received.

when i came here, i noticed the fierce competitiveness and ego displays of many impassioned people who's only goal is to display their feathers and have others drop dead in wonderment beholding them.

i was active and creative on this site when i first joined, but it quickly became obvious that the currents run fast here, and what you build today is swept away by tomorrow.

the place is too big. it has too many teenaged or early 20's people that are vastly more concerned about themselves than anyone else, and the traffic is relentless.

an example is the "what are you listening to now" thread. almost no one listens to anyone elses contributions to that thread and they blithely just slap their own video choice over the previous post without so much as a comment.

is it really communication? threads like that and the hugs thread and the count to whatever threads?

so many young people idealize themselves as undiscovered superheroes.

how jaded of me.

When I was younger, I was a prominent member of a forum for a (now inactive) website called Girlsense. I met lots of great people there and I felt free to be myself, but in the later stages of the forums life, there was a lot of drama. After that, it sort of died, which makes me extremely sad because I miss it.

I've tried to get into some other forums, but they either died quickly, I lost interest, or both.

I mainly use Tumblr now, but I'm not sure that counts as a message board. It's more of a blogging website. But I feel fairly comfortable talking about things there, to a certain extent. Not as comfortable as I am on here; here, I feel like I can be truly honest about things, and not have to redraft the things I type over and over again.

Reading through this thread, I realize (once again) that I lack a level of social awareness that some other people have, in terms of what goes on here. I honestly just blunder my way through, in a very naive and straightforward way. I see new topics and questions, and I add my own answer to the mix. It's as simple as that for me, and if my contribution comes across as narcissistic or attention-seeking – that honestly was never my intention. I see all people as having equal value, myself included.

But I think some of the more mindless threads serve a useful purpose too. I see it as a place where everyone is welcome to reply, and there are no wrong answers. So it's a chance to express your opinions and preferences, without fear of failure or rejection. There are few places in this world where I get that feeling, so I appreciate it here!

I do agree that the NT-bashing can be a bit much though. It's true that some NTs have treated us badly, but it doesn't mean that all of them are mean, horrible, stupid people. Still, I can understand the frustration, and sometimes people just need a safe place to vent.

I feel very comfortable posting on this website, though I do admit that's partially because my posts do not depict how I truly feel at times.

Rarely, if ever do I involve my negative emotions, particularly my aggressiveness when it comes to controversy. I sometimes view posts that I believe to convey false and otherwise ridiculous information, posts that are bleached by arrogance, ignorance, hypocrisy. It's barely different to any other forum or any other real life context for me. What stops me from ranting/arguing is the fact that I know at least some others would perceive my posts negatively as well. Everyone at times has to agree to disagree; I'm extremely far from perfect (Agree in your mind, please). Perhaps this very post will send someone into a fit of rage because they'll perceive it to be coming from a slob. The way I see it however, if someone can vent on this forum based on their experiences with others, then I may as well let go and vent for the same reasons. In other words, I'm going to take the moral low-ground and go against my sense of social justice because screw morals. Like Ashariel said, sometimes people need to vent.

I've got no idea what my 'neurology' is but honestly I couldn't give the slightest continental, aside from fact the fact that it would help to satisfy my curiosity and contribute to my identity. It makes me no less, and no more of a person regardless of whether I have Asperger's or some other fascinating difference. Better yet if I 'belong' to a label which quite frankly I find insulting: 'Neurotypical'. Why in god's name does that term exist? Who on Earth is typical? I've met no one else like myself, nor do I identify with so called 'normal neurology'. Many traits (particularly secondary) that a person with Asperger's has, a person without Asperger's could have too. For example, having Asperger's doesn't necessarily mean you're more detail oriented, have better memory, have worse social skills than someone without the disorder. It doesn't automatically mean that you're more intelligent or logical than everyone without the disorder (and believe me, I have read this on this forum many times). The same applies in reverse; a 'Neurotypical' person doesn't necessarily obsess over fashion, hygiene, sports. Nor do they necessarily excel in the workplace and live carefree lives. This applies for almost anything.

I'm not going to allow myself to be restrained or stereotyped based on what others think of me. Yes, it's a given I don't have a more crippling condition. Perhaps I have Asperger's.. so what? What does that mean? I'm still the same person that I've been my whole life and there's no escape from that. If I don't have Asperger's (which I am fine with), I'm sure as hell not accepting a label that grossly overgeneralizes a majority of people. 'Neurotypical' is perhaps the worst, and most contradicting term I've ever come across. I'm in awe that despite most people with ASD not wanting to be stereotyped, there sure as hell is a lot going across the other way.

Obviously I could say many nice things too, but the war over neurology is getting way too irritating for me to handle. It's literally at the point where any negative thing done to someone was caused by a 'Neurotypical'. Not just one 'Neurotypical', but suddenly every person without an ASD embodied into one 'Neurotypical'. It's a blame game. What would happen if you found out that you were actually bullied by someone who had Asperger's when you were younger? (I have experienced that first hand.)

EVERYONE is a different person. You aren't going to get along with every Autie/Aspie simply because you have an ASD, just as a person without an ASD doesn't get along with everyone without an ASD.

Sorry if it offends someone too much, it definitely wasn't my goal writing that to demean someone (rather it was just an argument).

That is all.


EDIT - Thought I should add an example of the reasons why I'm suddenly posting this: Link

I like that blogger a lot and appreciate his work don't get me wrong, but when I read this: 'But we Aspies did not change our world alone. We are different. Not superior. Autistics need NT’s. The inventor’s customers, the philosopher’s audience, the painter’s admirers, are all NT. Without NT’s we wouldn’t have team sports, CEO’s, or soldiers. Without NT’s, how would we spread our ideas?'

What irritates me beyond belief is that the line 'We are different. Not superior.' is quickly followed by an implication of the exact opposite, that all 'Neurotypicals' are blind followers that have no part in the development & success of humanity. If you don't pickup a vibe of supremacy from that, I'm not sure where you would. I read stuff like that all the time, and it's built up inside me. Obviously I've picked up supremacy against those with ASD too, but that is out of the context of what happens on this forum.

Last edited by Norny on 13 Feb 2014, 3:39 am, edited 10 times in total.

please dont think we are all NT bashers here,the majority of us treat them no differently to ourselves in worth,the rest are just pissed off at the entire group of NTs for the few who bullied or took advantage of them.


human beings as a whole just like talking about themselves.

I have been a member of several non-AS forums and USENET groups since nearly 30 years ago. The early days were difficult, but I have gotten better at presenting the correct behaviours, especially since diagnosis. So I am comfortable with most boards.

Last edited by IKnowWhoIAmNow on 14 Feb 2014, 7:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I post on a couple of smaller Autism forums where I feel far more comfortable than I do here in terms of being open about my issues and approaching people.

There are several things that annoy me here, such as the repetitive threads in this particular forum, the size of the membership, the lack of the family-like feeling of smaller forums, constantly being judged on my age, and the selfish pigs who constantly try to change people's positive views on their diagnosis to negative ones. That's just utterly disgusting in my opinion.

However, I have learned more from this site than from any other. It seems to be better as an educational resource than a place for making friends nowadays.

I'm new to this board, just found out about it a few days from a YouTube video.

I use Yahoo Answers and Boards.ie (Irish site, just incase my name didn't give me away). I use them for techie stuff but wouldn't post anything social or Autism related on them anymore. I did on YA in the past, but was accused of trolling, told if I had autism I wouldn't have the intelligence to use it and so forth.

I've posted one question here about an Autism related issue and for the first time online found people who understand me and don't judge me.

Definitely not. Too much ableism, too much privileged bigotry, too much apologism for institutionalized -isms.

Most forums are like that, though.

welcome to wrong planet. we are a friendly bunch here.
what part of ireland are from?
used to be on boards.ie as well-wasnt born in ireland but am three quarter irish and have been brought up in irish/not english culture.

yes YA sucks for anything to do with disability or mental health,its just full of game players using multiple accounts to go up a level and get best answers, trolls, sockpuppets,people who have just developed symptoms of lifelong disabilities; autism,ADHD etc and are looking for validation to diagnose themselves,kids with natural hormone imbalances desperate for medications,and attention seekers.

Forums I'm on are either disability forums or special interest forums. Usually both.