hey there hexbear nd gang! it’s that time of year for the first time ever!
here we are once again approaching the end of the year according to the roman imperial calendar that we all have to use for some reason. it’s the winter holiday season in the global north, a time of great symbolic significance to many people.
and so, i want to solicit your thoughts about this community, what it means to you, how you’d like to see it evolve, changes in moderation policy, suggestions for thumbnail and banner images, or anything else related to the comm or neurodiversity in general.
or just come hang out!
i also want to invite applications for new moderators for this comm. what would you like to do as a moderator for c/neurodiversity?
personally i’ve largely been a placeholder, but i do love this community and i want to see it grow as a shared and safe space for our neurodivergent comrades to talk about ourselves and with each other. i also want to do better and want your input about what that means.
c/nd has a well behaved user base so we don’t need extra mod help for enforcement or anything like that. what i’m mainly looking for is fresh perspectives on community engagement and growth.
there is absolutely no requirement to disclose any personal information about yourself, just to make that clear. but if you’re interested in moderating this community, please contact @CARCOSA@hexbear.net, myself, and/or the other nd mods with an application.
if deadlines help motivate you, you have 3 days from the time you read this.
if deadlines harm your motivation, don’t worry about it. if an application comes in a month or two from now of course we’ll still consider it. this isn’t a job, i’m just asking for volunteers to help moderate a small internet message board.
Application
What is your Hexbear username?
Do you have any preferred pronouns?
What are your thoughts on capitalism?
What are your thoughts on imperialism?
What are your thoughts on trans rights?
What are your thoughts on racial justice?
What are your thoughts on neurodiversity?
What do think about current and previous protests around the world?
What are your thoughts on Veganism and Animal Liberation?
Do you have any experience with other leftist online communities? What did those experiences teach you?
What is your approach to moderation, and how do you work with teams?
How do you deal with online drama and people who try to start things for the sake of it?
Do you have any ideas for c/neurodiveristy community engagement?
What is your general time availability? (amounts, common browsing times, etc)
Element information
Element is a messaging app that lets you talk to people over the Matrix protocol.
To get started, check out this link, where you can choose to either download Element for your platform or, if on a computer, open it in a browser (“Launch Element Web”).
The instructions that follow are for the desktop application and the web application, but the process is similar on all apps:
- Press “Create Account”
- We host our own Matrix server, so if you want you can change
matrix.orgtochapo.chat. This is completely optional; users who sign up with amatrix.orgusername can still talk to people withchapo.chatusername. (Note: It ischapo.chat, nothexbear.net. Also, registrations aren’t always open onchapo.chat; if they’re not, just create an account onmatrix.org) - Fill in a username and password
- Hit register, and you’re done!
I can’t find remote work for shit. Most companies offer hybrid jobs with 2-3 WFH days at best. I don’t know if I will be able to manage working on site, and having to socialize with allistic coworkers all day. I am sick of placating their egos by asking questions about their lives or boring hobbies while they, the supposedly empathetic part of humanity don’t give a fuck about mine, that or dissociating during group conversations and wanting to go home.
Of course the fucking online casino companies offer remote work, with great salaries but I don’t want to work for a company which besides the usual worker exploitation, also exploits the vulnerable users of its products (a large percentage of which is probably ADHD people).
Should I compromise on either my mental health or my morals? Or should I keep looking (4 months have passed since I started)? This whole process makes me want to disappear. I truly want to work and feel useful, but no-one wants to accommodate me, even if I am very good at what I have studied
Have you considered seeking reasonable accomodations to get additional WFH days?
I would be quite direct about it in an interview setting - if a company or a manager is going to begrudge giving me additional WFH days then they’re ableist and you’re gonna have a bad time working for them. Better to filter them out immediately in the interview than to be 2 months deep into an increasingly hostile work environment.
Basically I’d explain in simple terms that I have sensory sensitivities and that socialising drains my battery extremely rapidly which means that if I spend time under fluorescent lighting, with lots of noise happening around me (especially if I’m unable to wear noise cancelling headphones), and in a setting where there is a significant expectation to engage with people socially then my productivity for that day, and possibly the following day or two, will absolutely plummet (especially where the more people it is and the less I’m familiar with them, the more this affects me).
If you put it in those terms then I think you’ll be able to find a workplace which will accommodate you because you’re not saying “No”, you’re saying “You will get the most out of me - probably to the point where I’ll be in the top 10% of your productive workers - or you can get socialising and another body in the office out of me, but you can’t get both. Your choice.”
I haven’t disclosed anything about my autism, no. That’s because I haven’t received an official diagnosis (only informal confirmation by my former therapist and my psychiatrist), and because I am afraid that they are going to filter me out only based on that. You already said something to that effect, that I would be dodging a bullet if that happens, but I seriously think that 9/10 of companies are going to reject me on the spot (because a worse worker that integrates better into their social environments is better), so my options are going to be even more limited. Some of them like Canonical (of Ubuntu fame) even have personality tests during their interview process (I noped out of there after I realized that)
In the next interview I will try to mention it in more neutral terms, that I am “introverted” or something and really need those recharging days.
Ah, I’m sorry to hear that you’re in a tricky spot.
I guess if the interview goes well and they seem accommodating and welcoming, I’d consider disclosing that you’ve had more than one professional indicate that you’re likely autistic but that you haven’t gotten a formal diagnosis because it’s an expensive process and that you’ve managed this far without a diagnosis so it’s not like getting a formal confirmation is going to change anything for you. In that way you’re both signalling what’s going on for you and you’re giving them a good way of understanding your needs/how to support you while also signalling that you aren’t going to turn it into a big deal or cause headaches for your manager with endless demands for accomodation.
Is this classic pick-me behaviour? Yuuup.
Interviews are basically a pick-me competition and unfortunately the rates of unemployment amongst autistic folks is sky high because of rampant discrimination in the workplace. You could crusade against this over multiple lifetimes and you’d barely make a dent in it, meanwhile you’d be starving on the streets. Sucks that it has to be this way but death to capitalism etc. etc.
Sorry for not answering in detail, but I read your answer, thanks