I see a lot of heated discussion on this forum...

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It probably depends on how you define 'heated'. I've only been a member here since the beginning of January, but my impression, based on experiences on other forums, is that WP is a generally positive and civilised place where the level of intelligence is noticeably much higher than on most internet sites - but then, superior intelligence tends to be an attribute of people on the autistic spectrum. Members seem to be able to have reasoned and well-informed discussions on a wide range of subjects, to quote accurate and reliable sources and to respect others' points of view. When I first joined I was warned that the PPR form could get fairly agitated, which is true, but that's just the contentious nature of those particular subjects.
Of course, some of the debate here is about highly personal and sensitive issues that are raised by people who are very isolated and at times distraught. From what I've seen so far, most members behave in a very sensitive way, sometimes introducing a note of wry humour.
Neurotypicals have much to learn from WP.

I think this forum is a pretty nice place overall. Yes, there are debates sometimes, but I think it's a good thing for people to have discussions and express their opinions. Most people seem nice. I haven't seen too many personal attacks. The only thing I've noticed is a little more taking things personally than on other forums.

The other forums I go on are computer forums. Nobody ever gets upset there. It's very peaceful.

I've found this site to be welcoming, It was only two people that I had heated arguments with, I just said what I felt and then stopped before it got too nasty.

Same here. It's why I don't visit anywhere else 'socially'.

OMFD!! !

go try a Physics forum if you think this is rough

I think that you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned "consideration for the other person's point of view". One of the deficits that comes with having AS is not being able to imagine another person's point of view. This leads to many misunderstandings. We can't imagine where the other person is coming from so there can't be any thoughtful discussion.

I don't think that's true for all autistics and I certainly don't agree that there can't be any thoughtful discussion here. Many of us are empathetic and can imagine where other people are coming from. We might not agree with where they are coming from, but we can often imagine it or relate to it in one way or another.

There are also problem posters here who troll the women's discussion section and never seem to get called out on it much. I imagine that will change in time. It's usually the 'what's your philosophy on this ideology' threads that get heated everywhere here, and I don't think that's any different to how it is online in other places. I have found how people respond here to be, generally speaking, more gracious and kind.

There are some things that are going to result in some heated debating no matter what - like and religion and politics, it wasn't that long ago you had to avoid talking about such things at all during a conversation. But then there's the really trivial stuff, like which is better - Nintendo or Xbox, Batman or Superman, cats or dogs, milk chocolate or dark chocolate. It's really ridiculous because we all have different opinions and there's no right or wrong answer to those questions. Although personally I think cats rule and dogs drool.

Sometimes I agree/disagree a little with both conflicting sides but heaven forbid I say I do because then it's like they both want to kill me.

Being autistic, I think it quickly becomes clear to us as children that other people have different opinions/perspectives than we have. Further, I think this is more clear and known to us than it is to the majority of NTs who have so much in common with each other.
So even if we can't mirror, or feel the same as someone else, we know very well that there are differences there.

I could never count how many times in my life I have stated my own perspective to some NTs and had them look at me like I just stepped out of an alien saucer.

I think it can be unpleasant, but I don't see it as heated in comparison to other forums. Only a handful of threads here and there really devolve into chaos, while some forums might have a half dozen or more bad fights a day.

I do sometimes find it hard to sympathize with the number of nasty opinions towards everyone else, which I tend not to see as much elsewhere.

Assuming you're talking about who I think you're talking about, I genuinely think it is pitying.