Is this place safe for my son?

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Stacymom, you wrote you've been lurking and I'm sure you noticed it too, just as I. From time to time there is more bashing of autistics than usual and this is one of those peak times. It's not always like this, though.

I would say there is very occasional bullying on WP - though we try to crack down on it fast, but I've found that WP is much comparatively nicer and bully free than other forums on the internet. Generally forum posting can be quite an eyeopening, and often dangerous, pastime - personally I'm glad I only started really going on forums at about the age of 19 - once I was mature and self confident enough to handle possible negative experiences.

But I digress, I do think if you think foruming would be a good pastime for your son (as a younger bullied aspie, I used to get most of my social time hanging out with my younger brother - does your son have any siblings?), WP would be the first place I'd recommend.

I've never seen anyone on here bullied by a majority of people; if one member starts bullying another, immediately other members step in to stop the behaviour. For the vast majority of the time, WP is a very tolerant people friendly place.

I would not have allowed myself as a young teenager to join a forum. I was very naive and sensitive. Even in my 30s, I am extremely wary about joining forums. Lurking is different, though, so that could be a better option in the meantime.

^ I sometimes consider that too (about me).

Okay, I'm 21 myself but given I were much older and a mom I'd not let my child prior to ages 14/15 on here unsupervised.

Adolescent forum - not a problem usually, they could go to the kids crater and adolescent forum, but not onto the other forums such as General here or elsewhere.

If they're 14+ and have a maturity and stability according to their age, then I'd agree with them surfing WP. I'd offer to talk to them about anything curious or worrying they'd read though too.

Hi StaceyMom,

WrongPlanet.Net is one of the safer places on the internet in terms of socialisation but no place is 100% safe.

It is "patrolled" by a team of moderators who don't put up with personal insults but who are also quite tolerant in terms of mistakes. If a person breaches protocol, they're often given a chance to mend their ways and to apologise. They don't always get blocked immediately.

There's a boy on here EddieDog8 (who started posting when he was 8 ). You might want to talk to him and his mother about their experiences. I seem to recall him being singled out once on account of his spelling/grammar but as soon as everyone realised his age, they calmed down and were apologetic. In any case, the moderators at the time warned that such comments were unwarranted regardless of age.

I'd suggest that you retain an account here (separate to your son) and that you and your son sometimes participate in the same sorts of discussions. You might find yourselves learning things about eachother. Your son's profile will need to have his DOB filled in correctly (or close) to ensure that he doesn't access age restricted materials.

Most importantly, make sure that you familiarise your son with internet etiquette (you can find this all over the internet). In addition, you need to make sure that your son understands the need for internet safety...

A Good Internet Safety Page with Tips for Parents

Good luck.

no place is truly "safe" & there are christians here but WP seems quite safe on the whole.

Ha! It's a heck of a lot safer than school!

Safer than??

Am have been abused and bullied on here a few times which was aimed at own Autism,but can deal with it as an internet veteran and always report it on wp when see it happening to others,bullying,but more so abuse-are quite common-it's because users [mods and members] do something about it that WP is kept clean.

There's a lot of ignorance of others experiences of ASDs and buying into stereotypes that goes on,which probably fuels the abuse,
but it's the most accomodating ASD forum have ever used,and would recommend letting own son start if he likes the idea.
If he has never used a forum before,see if he wants help with getting around it,eg the rules,what threads are,what posts are,how to make them,what mods are,what an avatar is etc.

i think this forum is not an accurate portrayal of AS because there are many people who are searching for labels to describe themselves and they like the description of AS and they model themselves that way, and then they self diagnose erroneously.

there are far fewer AS people around than these people think.

this seems like a "lonely heart" site sometimes. many people like the stereotype of AS and they try to pretend they are AS as well, and if they are intelligent, they will craft (fabricate) well thought out accounts of what they experience that seem to fit with their pamphlet learned ideas.

when i come here, i hope to see a new person that joined today that i totally identify with who has been lurking for months.

i do not believe that many people on this site are truly AS. i do believe some, but other people are bogus in my mind.

i never met any AS people in real life, and i have seen many people.
AS is rare, and when people talk about groups of AS friends, i wonder how loosely their self diagnosis brush is held.

but none of us are qualified to damn a persons authenticity even though we may feel irksome about their delivery.

i would let my child see the world for what it is and help them see how sily parts of it are.

All I can say, is come with a thick skin and be prepared to defend yourself. But that's not specifically just this forum. It's the same everywhere on the internet. It's an interesting read, though, hearing other AS and Autistic views on things.