This is a bit of a vent, I'm sorry in advance. I'm still a little bit triggered honestly. If this type of post doesn't fit for this community I apologize, I don't really have anyone to talk to about this.
Reddit has been pushing me away over the past year, mostly because of how antagonistic people are becoming.
The straw that broke the camels back for me was encountering a user with the "r" word in their username, being used in a derogatory way. I am autistic, and that triggers me based on my past experiences. It's a slur against autistic or ND people, and it violates the reddit content policy that states "Users that promote hate based on identity or vulnerability will be banned."
So it turns out on Reddit there is no way to report someone for using slurs in their username. I tried all the other avenues for reporting and nothing worked. I tried to contacting a handful of admins but was ignored over several weeks.
This was all very frustrating for me and I thought I would post about it on the autism subreddit, but I was met with rude responses that boiled down to "Get over it." or "Shut up." I posted on a few other autism related subs and was met with similarily harsh responses. Some of the subreddits actually deleted my post.
I honestly didn't expect that kind of response from other people on the spectrum, and its at this point I realize reddit is unhealthy, regardless of the subreddit.
I have deleted my account and wont look back. I am thankful that a place like beehaw exists, its a shame more spaces online don't try to cultivate a friendly userbase.
Please be sure to drop off any excess Snoo, Narwhal, Bacon and other references in the garbage bin as soon as possible; and enjoy your time online again!
I think you'll find that the internet is absolutely a wonderful place if you look and examine the communities you join critically and decide if those communities are for you.
Like with any large community that has failed due to it's impossible size; lots of adjustments may be necessary. We may lack some of the creature comforts of larger communities, but we do have lots of kindness to make up for it.
Thank you! I think I prefer a smaller community. I would rather have 5 kind people see my comment or post than have thousands see it and bring toxicity with them.