Are NTs winning Wrong Planet's Popularity Contest?

Post Reply New Topic

Another forum member mentioned at one time that NTs are, ironically, often more 'welcomed here' than people who've actually been diagnosed with aspergers. I thought this was kind of funny because 1) The forum member was diagnosed as an Aspie so maybe there was a little of that "Grass is greener on the side" syndrome going on and 2) From what I could tell, people who were 'less aspie' did tend to be more positively regarded, everything else being equal.

So, would you say NTs are winning the popularity contest on Wrong Planet?

And, if so, why?

I don't know, I get a bit frustrated with some NT posters when they start explaining things about how autistic people think, what we can understand, etc.

Actually, I get annoyed with a couple autistic posters who do the same.

Well, it is bad news, apparently recently specific sites that are well concidered "Joke Sites" or "Annonmus Group" sites seem to have a bad rap with Aspies and Autistic people, I feel it is a sign that many of us who are more intelligent are just getting belittled by those who are Normal, and well it seems much more like a "Race" card to me.

I'm a little puzzled because I was recently told about my fitting in here, (paraphrased) "Remember that the vast majority of the people who post here are autistic." My signature shows my AS scores, but I got the impression that the suggestion was being put forth, I am not among the "real" autistics, and that's why I'm having trouble finding a comfort zone. Translation inside my own head: Even among outsiders, I am an outsider. (I'm not angry, just trying to figure it out. It is entirely possible that the other person was NOT suggesting that at all.)

Could it just be another case of NT's having better social and communication skills, and so being more popular? Cruel in its irony, for an autistic support site.

That is the truth, apparently the problem is, the Media may have made Autism(and it's related disorders) much more annoying and more cautious to the NTs than first thought, let alone I am one of those who hardly have any real life friends, and at my word there are more people who seem more NT than Autistic at the job I have, and already 10 people have issues have serious issues at me because I am like this, and I don't need to get fired from my job because of this such issue that these Normal people have with me.

I was thinking something along those lines. I was thinking NTs probably had better Theory Of Mind abilities, and so they might have increased awareness of how others may be impacted by their communication, and have a greater ability to induce liking (Assuming that is a common objective of the average NT). And/Or, it could be, that the NTs on here tend to be the significantly intelligent types who don't fit in as well in mainstream society, and that makes them more communicatively skilled, on average, then the average aspie (and the average NT, though they don't tend to frequent WP, I think).

Funny. While I was never accused for "not fitting in" (Even though I never tried to explicitly or implicitly claim "aspie" status. If anything, I'm rebuking the status and everybody is trying to convince me that I have AS! lol), I still feel kind of feel like an outsider. I'm certain one of these days, I'm finally going to "really fit in" on a schizophrenic board somewhere, lol.

I've been on other forums that were predominantly NP (if there were Aspeis there they didn't identify themselves as such) and there was a lot more interaction among posters. People often replied to each other's posts, more often than just adding their point of view to the content of the thread. I think this is a way of making people feel included (for those whose posts get replied to) as well as excluded (for those whose posts don't get replied to), so in some respects I'm glad that here people tend to stick to the topic rather than feeling like they have to reply to their friends and cronies. On the other hand, I think it makes people feel like no one is listening to them if their posts get no feedback.

I realized that my replying to your post in this post was an affirmation of the tendency you describe, and this is one more piece of evidence for making my "NT" case before the jury that is my mind, lol.

I have certainly noticed exactly that on other forums that were predominantly NT. There's a tendency to pollute the thread with usually meaningless acknowledgements and tangential humor and remarks that tends to lower the "Signal to Noise" ratio quite a bit; of course, if the average NT finds amusement in said humor and finds joy in recognition/gestures-of-inclusion, then the "signal to noise" ratio for most NTs in NT-dominated forums might be quite high.

Also, if there was an "insightful" checkmark box available for your post, I'd check it.

I always give people the benefit of the doubt when they join this site. I assume everyone's an aspie unless they state otherwise, and they usually do. From personal observation, it's impossible to tell how well someone functions/how "autistic" they are just from reading their posts on an internet forum. I've been surprised to learn that some of the most eloquent members are in fact completely nonverbal outside of the Internet. So I think it's unfair to assume anyone's an NT unless they say they are.

Is the label of NT applied to anyone not "officially" diagnosed? I came across this site in my own truth seeking journey. earlier today I made progress in being screened by a councilor who regularly works with Aspies and while she isn't certified to make a diagnosis, she said she saw enough indication to refer me to a doctor for an "official" diagnosis. I've read several times over that with the nature of Asperger's that if you've done your research and you think you have it, you probably do. Thus far, everything I've found points to this. If this isn't my problem, I must be REALLY messed up.......

Either way, I WAS diagnosed ADHD back in the day when Asperger's wasn't widely known in the U.S, and the fact that I have excessive attention in regards to my obsessions is a convincing trait to support my belief. Then there's the debate that ADHD and A.S. should be classified in the same category... I fit in here......

No. They are labeled as "undiagnosed". Diagnoses are difficult to come by for a lot of people, so the members of this forum will generally take your word for it if you honestly believe you have AS but don't have a diagnosis.

Thank you for the supportive comment IdahoRose!

My fiancee's last name is Rose! @}->--

I feel so validated. Let's be best friends!

Yep, that's how NT forums work...

Eh, I hang out on a sort-of-NT forum and it's nice to have the reinforcement that says you're following the social rules correctly or being useful. But then, I was raised "normal" with every difficulty treated as a unique personal quirk, so I have developed a high interest in getting along and demonstrating myself useful.

WP has a popularity contest?