not all aspies are like this, surely

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Are the people on this site a biased representation of who and how aspies are?

I just think that if you got any group of people who belonged to a site and wrote posts regularly then they are representative of that, but not representative of aspergers, so if NT's are here to get a taste of what aspies are like then they are looking in the wrong place.

I have not been offended by anyone, i am not posting to be critical either, I really enjoy and feel at home here.

Just wondered!! !! !

Eromi

I haven't really interacted with aspies outside of this forum, so I couldn't tell ya. The only two other forums I have visited I didn't stay long (one was too politically motivated for me, the other I just found boring for some reason.)

the very fact that to get on this site you need a computer, an internet connection, and speak english will eliminate the possibility that this is a decent representation of all aspies.

personally, i think that i am completely different in real life compared to how i come across on-line.

i suspect that i seem like a bit of a show-off and quite cocky in my posts, but i'm actually quite polite and non-confrontational in real life. i think that those who have corresponded with me via PM have witnessed a slightly more realistic representation of me.

Absolutely right.

But are we a fair representation of aspies on-line?

On-line makes a difference too. On the whole I am more confident communicatiing in this one-channel, time delay mode, with a physical separation, than I might be with a stranger at close range.

Would I, from my messages here, be recognisable off-line? Possibly, if people listened to what I was saying, rather than reading my clothes, physical appearance, accent, body-language...

I disagree.

We are all aspies (most of us) and if this is how we are represented, it's how we are.

I'm a lot less agressive offline, but everyone knows that people are a tad different online than they are off.

Not to be cliche', but...

If you've seen one aspie......you've seen one aspie.

...and I think there is a fair amount of divergence here.

This is one clique or a small collection of similar cliques, but to consider this to be a random or representative sample of would appear to strain the limits of credibility.

What is it about the aspies on this site that surprises you eromi?

No, I don't think so.

People can't see things like lack of eye contact, poor body language, and obliviousness to social realities so much in a text-only, paced-timed mode of communication like this. I think, on this site, I have gained a bit of a reputation for being opinionated and obnoxious. Offline, I can be sometimes, too, but this hardly the entirety of my personality! I'm actually generally considered to be nice or sweet if not also a little weird in my demeanor.

it isn't even remotely representative. for one thing, the posts on wrongplanet aren't representative of the membership - i think about 50 people (out of 3500) make half the posts, but when the member list worked i noted that about half the people who registered had never posted at all or made just one post. there might well be as many lurkers too who have never even registered.

of the real-life aspies i've known, it's only a minority who have ever been on AS message boards at all, and a smaller minority who stay on message boards long-term. most don't have the skills to use a computer, or don't have effective access to computers (i originally wrote 'accessible access' then but it looked silly - but that's what i mean)

the problem (which i've seen on all message boards i've been on) is that it leads to an environment where the people with the most nt-like online social skills and communication always dominate the board and end up controlling it, which means that for the other 90% of us, trying to interact on an 'AS' message board like this feels exactly the same as trying to interact with nts in the nt world and we get treated pretty much just as badly. the same sort of social domination games goes on as in the nt world, with the result that most people here find ourselves unable to participate.

sorry i am not explaining it well but, would you believe, i have a communication disorder!! !! ! this has already taken over an hour...

Yeah, I'd agree we're not truly representative of the whole of AS. In fact, when I['m online I know I'm not truly representative of the whole of me. Forums like this attract and hold a certain slice of the AS population. Those who have the ability to access the internet and who are willing and able to communicate adequately in this format. And even then, we rarely come across online as we would in person.

That said, I think a forum like this CAN be an accurate peek into "real life" AS on those threads where we share our personal experiences and struggles with daily life.

While I understand that wrongplanet is an "artificial" community, I also know I have learned A LOT of TRUTH about myself and about AS by belonging to this community.

I think I'm much the same irl as I appear online, except I don't talk so much. My personality is still very much the same, just withdrawn.

I think if anything, this site might be a slightly biased sample because we are a representation of Autistics who like and use computers fairly frequently. I know a couple other Aspies who aren't quite as computer-inclined.

But other than that, I think we're a pretty good representative sample.

In real life im quite and i may come across as looking homeless with my gressy hair and pants that are baggy and unbrushed hair with a tshirt that may or may not have holes. Im also more angery in real life then over the net.