We’ve updated our comment policy.
Short version: Please keep comments on topic, and please do so without making conflicts of opinion personal. We want TPGA and TPGA Facebook to be forums in which people feel comfortable discussing and debating autism topics. We do our best to moderate threads and encourage respectful disagreement. However, as we are a tiny team of volunteers, we may not be able to moderate in real time. If you feel we have missed a moderation opportunity, please notify us at thinkingautism@gmail.com.
The main part of our updated commenting policy is below. The full TPGA comment policy can be found at www.thinkingautismguide.com/p/community-guide.html, and is also linked in our website’s header as (wait for it) Comment Policy.
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The
purpose of Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism is to share and discuss
information from Autistics, professionals, and parents, as guided by our
Mission Statement. We encourage an ongoing dialogue in the comments of each blog post, and on our Facebook page.
While
we moderate comment threads as needed, please keep in mind that we are a
small team of volunteers and so may not be able to moderate in real
time. If you feel we need to pay attention to a specific thread or
comment, please contact us at thinkingautism@gmail.com.
We
expect disagreement. We also expect commenters to be respectful of post
authors, and other commenters. While we have an established readership,
many people are coming to this community for the first time. This rich,
diverse community has a
lot to offer us all if we strive to listen to and learn from
each other.
It is our ultimate goal to have an open exchange of ideas in a
safe environment. However the editors reserve the right to remove distasteful
commentary, and will also consider removing comments if approached by the author of the comment.
In general, comments containing the following will be deemed inappropriate and will be removed:
- Vulgar or abusive language;
- Personal attacks of any kind;
- Unsupported accusations;
- Offensive terms that criticize individuals based upon neurostatus,
race/ethnicity/nationality, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, etc.; - Spam or unsolicited advertisements;
- Marketing copy or links promoting services or products
In addition:
- Comments should remain on-topic and follow the thread of conversation.
- Unless a commenter specifically identifies as Autistic or otherwise,
please do not presume the neurology of the person commenting. If a
person identifies as Autistic, please do not question their diagnosis,
even if they are self-diagnosed. Questioning the legitimacy of another
person’s neurology is not acceptable. - Be thoughtful when contradicting or disputing previous comments.
Please consider that an opinion in opposition to yours may be put forth
due to lack of information, and not to intentionally harm. - If you have personal triggers, please consider whether you should
participate in specific conversation threads. Conversely, please be
considerate of those triggered by certain topics due to past trauma. In
all cases, listening is often the best way to learn from discussions. - Do not presume all parents are the same. Do not presume all
Autistics are the same. Sweeping generalizations can do more damage than
good, and hold back those who are trying to move advocacy forward.
Statements such as “You parents always…” “Autistics never….” may be
grounds for having your comment removed.
Repeated violations of these guidelines may result in being banned
from the blog or Facebook page.
