The Death of the Internet as a Haven for People With Autism

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https://slate.com/culture/2023/10/twitter-death-autism-autistic-internet-early-web-online.html

Please reach out if you encounter paywall issues. This is about the only such site I actually subscribe to. I didn't copy it due to concerns over copyright.

I enjoyed the article.

I particularly agreed with the points made about the degradation of the quality of community on the internet, with the birth of social media websites, and the normalisation of online communication, catered for and by normies.

Corporatism and capitalism being a negative influence on online communities and the autistic folk that once lived in certain internet spaces before they became clickbait or trending hotspots or non-controversial safe spaces is also accurate, I think.

I did not agree with the mention of Twitter being a migratory replacement for the old school forums and it being, formerly, a new place for oddballs, autistics and bigfoots of the internet.

I always found Twitter to be a place full of either NT bores or the type of autistic people who one would try to avoid online.

I am personally glad that Elon Musk is destroying Twitter.

The internet has always been exactly what its users make of it, and it always will be. Twitter / X is not the internet, social media is not the internet. Nerds, geeks, techies, etc. were and are the ones who made the internet accessible to all, but on the whole I don't think that was a mistake.

The OP’s column is very normal. Things change and people age out or go their separate ways. The Internet is no different in that regard.

That said there have always been spaces for people who agree with the now out of date ways. The internet makes it easier. People have been saying forums are dying since I joined WP a decade ago. True forums have not been cutting edge for a long time but WP is still here and a lot better then 5,6,7,8 years ago. You prefer music that is not played on the radio anymore or has never been played on the radio you can probably find it online.

For autistics then and now it advantages us because we do not have to depend on non verbal communication.

As DanielW said it is what you make of it.

The forum is better than it was 5-8 years ago? In what respect?

I would say the forum activity level has decreased a lot during that time, at least.

I liked WP better years ago. There was more action.

I miss and prefer the internet pre-social media. Back when forums like this one were king. I think forums are just better.

To my knowledge, the fora in which I used to participate shut down because the administrators could not deal with the trolling. WP has probably survived because it doesn't get a lot of attention. But loss of interest doesn't seem to have been the main factor.

My take on this is that WP was founded by people who identified as having Asperger's Syndrome (many were self-diagnosed via online tests and would display the results of those tests in their signatures). They faced challenges, but were still capable of holding down full-time jobs, and being in romantic relationships. WP was a safe space for those people and their interactions could be very lively. Sometimes things were discussed at a level of frankness that wouldn't be accepted in "polite society". But as time went on, a broader cross section of the autistic community joined in, but the problem that resulted was that the degree of shared experience decreased drastically. A lot of nasty stuff apparently started happening (not being involved, I was blissfully unaware) and recently there has been a big increase in policing "bad behavior". Some long-time members feel themselves unable to just say what comes to mind like they could >10 years ago. A few have left after years of active participation. Was this trend inevitable? I really don't know.

I agree. Forums are soooooo much better. With moderators. Because in real life people don't just blurt out everything in their heads, or attack others viciously, or sell bitcoin, or hold conversations with one million people.

In real life, people moderate themselves and each other, have manners and consideration.

If you want a nice social media, Mastodon is the one at present (how long it will stay like that, I don't know). It is literally full of autistic/ queer/ nonbinary people, and every other minority you can think of.

All my friends on Mastodon are: autistic; LGBTQ; disabled; people of colour; geeks. I didn't realise that til recently but they are.

It is the place for minorities, for want of a better word.

Sounds like a nice place. A lot of social media is full of normies nowadays. At least, on the more mainstream platforms.

I think it’s much better than it was 5-8 years ago although, as with most forums, it’s less busy than it used to be.

It’s a safer space than it once was since some members have been banned. Many members left in the past when there was more open transphobia, misogyny, misandry, etc. I think the stricter standards have been very positive overall. There’s less contention and hostility.

Last edited by TwilightPrincess on 16 Oct 2023, 7:40 am, edited 1 time in total.

Saying whatever comes to mind might be nice for the person talking, but it could be harmful to other people. Many people left in the past because of hurtful dialogue people engaged in on here.

Well, perhaps then there are some things about the forum that have improved and some things that have not.

A forum being busy is more desirable for most people, I would think.

I don't think it'd take much for the forum to properly die nowadays, since there aren't really a great deal of new members who are joining and staying, I have noticed.

It seems to be the case with other forums, too. I think people are mostly using bigger platforms these days.

I certainly prefer WP now than in the past.