Is it a place for 'free speech' irrespective of the feelings of others (as I read recently)?
Is this a place to vent, support, discuss (about any subjects in life).
Should subjects be primarily about autism as I have read here recently?
Is it's purpose mainly social as I have also read here recently?
I would actually like to know if there is anything written by NAS about this.
I would prefer it if we were discussing autism, the challenges we face and our successes in navigating them and our sources of autistic joy, offering support to each other. That's what I come here for!
I do have concerns that social media has accelerated a trend towards people posting and saying whatever they want to, however much that may hurt others. I avoid Facebook, X/Twitter, etc for that reason and hope this place can be kept/made free of toxicity.
I think this is how I am mostly minded although I've started threads on other subjects before but usually personal ones, ie relating to us individually.
What I particularly dislike are the threads that are started on contentious subjects as they predictably live up to their name.
Politics, LGBTQ+ and religion come to mind.
I've come across members here who think that we should be able to be 'free speech' ish in what we say and shouldn't be in any way censored or cautious as long as we are within the forum rules.
I have also come across members who believe that others' opinions + views shouldn't be challenged.
There will always be subjects that can be covered here that will cause dissension and I personally am not able to pass a subject by as some members suggest pretending it doesn't exist when it cuts to the core of my beliefs and principles. That can be obvious from the title alone without even opening it.
I'll always stand up for what I believe is right but I try to protect myself from that kind of pain by not taking part in any type of shouty social media and avoiding world news.
This isn't because I don't care as others might suggest but because I care too much.
I doubt if I am unique in this approach.
We can all post whatever we like here but, as has always been the case, if it hurts people, they will leave or just stop reading.
To feel support from fellow autistic people, share experiences and feel part of a community.
Very good thread to link to for this particular issue.
Indeed.
An illustration of how 'you can't please all the people all of the time but you can please some of the people some of the time'.
Thank you! I vaguely remember this now. That thread he talked about was a pretty big deal if I remember right. I don’t think I engaged with that particular thread, but I think I remember reading it when it caused someone to have a trauma response.
Very good thread to link to for this particular issue.
Great post. I don't want to talk about peoples favourite films and tv either. Just like in the NT world some people don't like "heavy" topics and others get stuck in seeing them as an oportunity to expand thinking, ideas and how we view the world.
I think one of the problems might come from the use of the generic you, as in 'when you get on a bus', from the personal you, of 'I like you', let alone the accusative, 'you did that'. I think it might help if we all owned our statements, with an 'I feel' 'I think/believe' as it makes it clear that it's a personal opinion and not a fact.
It makes me wonder what some of the older veterans of the site would answer, like Number or O&U. However, Number rarely gets on here and seems to be disenchanted with the direction this site took (I don’t know the details on that)
I had a feeling given the climate of the other thread that this was going to come up soon lol
It makes me wonder what some of the older veterans of the site would answer, like Number or O&U. However, Number rarely gets on here and seems to be disenchanted with the direction this site took (I don’t know the details on that) and O&U hasn’t been online for maybe even a year by now for reasons I don’t think he outright disclosed. I’m curious if their reasons for leaving relate to what you are asking about. Maybe Lotus - who I believe has been here for about 8ish years? - would have some interesting things to say about this?
My personal take on the forum is that it is a buffet of topics to divulge in. Just like with even the best of buffets, there’s going to be items available that you are uninterested in or disgusted by, and thankfully there is enough good stuff for you to be satisfied with. At a buffet, no one is forcing you to grab food that you do not want. Same here. I - for one - have very little interest in what other Autistic people are watching on television. Sorry, but I really couldn’t care less, no matter how many times that thread pops up on this forum lol.
Overall, I’m of a same mind as TheCatWoman, where nearly any topic should be allowable on this forum due to everything being related to our experiences as Autistics (or families related to Autistics) engaging with the world. Obviously that includes our preferences and struggles, but also our views on politics, religion, culture, existence, media, and etc. For example: Infamous court cases currently in the news. Of course we cannot say for sure who is right or wrong, but as Autistics we may have intriguing viewpoints on those situations. Many of us have distinctly black/white thinking, but not all of us, so that is interesting to see at play.
On the other hand, does that mean disagreements should get heated or nasty barbs be lobbed at each other? Absolutely not. Unfortunately, Autistics tend to struggle with social niceties and norms, and speaking through text without facial/body expressions makes it practically impossible to interpret intentions. That is bound to create confusion, misinterpretation, and hurt feelings, particularly for a community like ours.
In conclusion (TLDR), I lean more towards patience and attempting to understand as opposed to outright censorship and limitations on what we can talk about.
B says beautifully how I feel too, and I feel bad about you feeling that way, Lonehare12 , as you have always been so kind to me and others. 
️
I actually felt bullied for having a different opinion.I think you were on that particular thread, and every time that happens on this forum it deeply disturbs me because bullying has governed quite a lot of my life, as I am sure it has others here and also I am quite empathetic.
I used to belong to a different kind of forum, and the chat was generally really nice, but one day someone put on some horrendous stuff and really upset another member. That person left the whole forum and never came back. It made me really sad.
I wouldn't like this site to go the way of so many other ones where free speech means freedom to be rude, nasty and bullying.
I think it already has.
A problem is each individual's view of what those terms mean to them personally.
We are people who look at the world through a slightly different lens to others, the lens of autism, I enjoy and start threads that aren't about autism, some of the threads I start are political, being political is part of who I am.
I think NAS should be able to have threads about different things, not just autism related, we still live in the world and are affected by it and I don't think we should be rendered mute because of autism. Nor do I think we should be unchallengable when we say things other disagree with, this is called healthy debate, just don't get into name calling and insulting.
I wouldn't like this site to go the way of so many other ones where free speech means freedom to be rude, nasty and bullying.
I’m only just starting to find my own voice and suppose it just something I have to get used to, it comes with the territory so to speak.
It can but I don't personally think it must.
Someone else on this forum was recently spoken to several times in a similar way and is now once again no longer present.
It's a pattern we see in life generally but it would be good if we could protect ourselves from it here.
I think that comes down to what we want the forum to be as much as what it was intended as, but also of course we won't all want the same thing.
The sad thing is I just turn it inwards and think that it’s me being too sensitive and maybe I’m not strong enough for this…I’m only just starting to find my own voice and suppose it just something I have to get used to, it comes with the territory so to speak.
I actually felt bullied for having a different opinion.
I think you were on that particular thread, and every time that happens on this forum it deeply disturbs me because bullying has governed quite a lot of my life, as I am sure it has others here and also I am quite empathetic.
As I said on that particular thread, I am concerned that others will quietly drift away from here, as has been the case in the past when similar situations have arisen.
I've moderated groups on social media and I understand how difficult that can be in terms of rules and sheer hours put in to govern a site, but it may be that we need some boundaries around this. I wouldn't want to see it going so far that it breaks this forum.
These things do come in cycles and having been here for several years, I've seen this happen, the mods trying to exercise control and people leave.
There have been some very strong shouty viewpoints here.
People come and go who upset others and who get upset.
One major problem is that we are obviously all different in life viewpoints but one thing most of us seem to share is sensitivity, including to others.
I actually felt bullied for having a different opinion.
I'm sorry for that. Do you feel safe to say what the context was e.g. was it about an autism-related subject or a social news one?
