Anybody struggling to find their place here on WP?

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Jakki has sort of grown on me

.......... thank you.......

@Aspie 1:
I agree with your observations entirely.

We're the same age and I think we're of a unique gray-area generation. Like those before us, most people our age weren't diagnosed in childhood (though a few may have been). Childhood diagnosis of Aspergers was still in its infancy, and the older generation of teachers/parents that raised us had no idea about it.

Yet, we hit early adulthood in an Internet age. Unlike older folks who went decades not knowing why they felt so different until getting a diagnosis later in life, we were able to go to a search engine and type something like "I'm in my mid-20s, no social success, what's wrong with me?" I first stumbled across this site ~2007 and lurked for a few years before joining.

I do wonder if an increase of older folks getting a late diagnosis joining, coupled with younger folks who were still in diapers when this site was founded and were probably diagnosed in their childhood, has shifted the dynamics a bit. Not saying that's bad, all Aspies should be welcome regardless of age, but early WP was indeed a different place with a different demographic and a different (IMO better) mindset.

And I agree. It is a bit strange and disheartening that a website for Aspies, people who've been on the outs socially their whole life, has seemingly embraced the mainstream "official" narrative and, more importantly, has become so hostile toward anyone who says otherwise. We're used to this behavior from NTs, but it's a little weird coming from Aspies.

You make a very good point, Jakki: This site has become very similar to the mainstream NT society it once provided a respite from. Same arbitrary rules. Same censorship. Same double standards. Same leftist politics. There's now little to no reason to post on here vs. on another forum. Autism has become socially acceptable enough that everybody but the most backwards conservatives treats it with respectful nonchalance. That is, not see it as "less than", but also not put it on a pedestal.

The decline started right when WP changed its forum software and basic design. That's when Mr. Plank decided to make it more family-friendly and more "woke" , long before "woke" was a thing. He recruited lots of hyper-leftist mods to remake WP in his new image. Lots of straight men were kicked out for having certain beliefs. This alienated many long-time members, causing them to leave in droves or simply stop posting. The societal change of autism becoming more accepted lessened the need to post on WP vs. simply admit to being autistic on a more mainstream platform.

The political polarization of 2020 further undermined this site. While I'll stop short of calling it a "has-been", it's definitely moribund. Long-time members are getting alienated or getting good enough at NT-masking that WP is falling into redundancy. And whatever new members join, they feel comfortable to admitting on other platforms to having autism and discussing their difficulties. So the monopoly WP once held is gone.

I think Jakki, is wacky...in the good sense of wacky

You sure complain a lot for someone who has not even posted to the Men's discussion here for at least the last three years. I'm very sensitive to misandry, often objecting to it on other sites, but don't find much here. I never even noticed these purges you protest. If the mainstream media is ALWAYS wrong, how do you even set your clocks?

Yup, you're right too: This site is nowhere close what it was when I first joined it in 2005. Instead of being a respite from the NT society, it became an online version of it.

I feel like I'm living in the bizarro world! A conservative group that supports Trump and believes in QAnon has accepted me and welcomed me with open arms. (I joined it in order to have in-person social outings with real people, when my state had a quarantine order in place.) Even though stereotypically, they're supposed to dislike me and wish to remake me into a "normal person". And yet, they love my dark, deadpan humor and outspoken attitude. They even know I'm Jewish! While on this very site, I now feel afraid of getting issued a warning every time I post!

At the third stroke, it will be 1 32 and 20 seconds. Beep. Beep. Beep.

https://1194online.com/

I do miss the talking clock.

I don't know about other users, but I don't come on here to talk about my "individuality" or "rebel". I may talk about my differences to NTs, but I mainly come on here to feel normal for a few minutes and talk to people who are like me. I don't get the obsession with WP being "underground" before or whatever that means.

Also, autism might be a bit more "socially acceptable" now, but sans groups that are specifically meant for autistics, people still get harassed for their traits on other sites. I really don't think people are that comfortable talking about their autism on them. This forum just doesn't get as much traction anymore because no one uses forums in general. A lot of people I talk to don't know what a forum is or haven't used one since the early 2010s.

Some people who are into Qanon might by nice people....but they believe in total crap.

I miss the talking clock as well, wish they'll bring it back.

I miss the green and blue theme. I also miss the old days. I miss the feel that WP once had. I wasn't quite myself back in those days, but I wish that WP would be the way that it used to be. We've lost a lot of members because of the way that WP has changed over the years. I wish those members would drop by from time to time. I'd like to see where they are now and what they're doing. I'd also like the members to see me as I really am instead of me trying too hard to wear my British family name like I was back than.

I remember I first visited WP a long time ago, probably 2011, but I was immediately put off by it, because it seemed to be crowded with people morbidly obsessed with emulating normality. It put me off so much that it dissuaded me from even considering any further the possibility that I might actually have any form of autism myself, which I didn't reconsider for several years afterwards. Whatever was going on here at the time just didn't seem to have anything to do with me.

I'm new here, but this statements has the gist of how I think about it.

If you are having trouble "fitting in" here on WP, perhaps the source of difficulty might be your writing style? Do you have a learning disability related to reading and and writing?

This is more likely to happen in "General Autism Discussion" than in any other sub-forum. For that reason, I generally prefer to post things in the least-crowded sub-forum to which they are relevant.