I can’t just listen to conversations people I don’t know are having, and randomly interject when I feel I have something relevant to say.

Damn, I feel that to my core. One of the few benefits people like us would’ve had in the pre-internet days, was that striking up casual conversations with strangers was considered more acceptable. Thankfully, my (also neurodivergent) father set an example for that when I was growing up - he chatted up everyone, and as a consequence seemed to know people no matter where he went. Yeah, some people probably thought he talked too much, but so what? He wasn’t bothered, and he occasionally made actual connections through it. At the very least, I imagine most people would recognize my father as a friendly guy.

I try to let that empower me, even though it’s much easier said than done. The thing is, if you go into a conversation expecting to be viewed negatively, it’s going to impact how the interaction goes. Also, something that took me a painfully long time to learn, is that internet strangers can’t substitute for therapy. Just because neurotypicals know how to do something, doesn’t mean they can explain how they do it. I held that same expectation through my youth, but since NTs never had to go through the socialization process step-by-step in order to learn it, expecting them to break it down the way you want them to simply isn’t going to happen.

That is, unless they’ve studied it and know how to give constructive advice that makes sense from your perspective. And at that point, you’re actually seeking a therapist anyway.

That definitely depends on the context. Women’s voices are often characterized as too whiny, too emotional, too bossy, too [insert sexist insult.] The content of what we say doesn’t matter. Some people just hear a woman’s voice and automatically tune out. Sadly, when you live it, it’s hard to avoid; I didn’t hate my voice for so many years for no reason.

Considering that virtual assistants like Siri only exist to follow user’s commands, it might be worth considering that people aren’t preferring female voices because they like them more. It’s possible that people feel more comfortable giving demands to a female voice than a male one.

Just some food for thought.

I imagine that 10-20 years from now, there will be a lot more young adults bonding over vague memories of videos that they loved when little, but that they can’t find a shred of anymore. Creators will have risen and fallen through the years. Some will shut down their channels and retire, others will be demonetized, and yet more will simply disappear without a trace. There won’t be a backlog of every kids’ video on YouTube; it’s not like PBS or Nickelodeon, where popular shows might get officially archived. Instead, people will be left vaguely describing plots they can’t fully remember, all the while getting a weird look from those who don’t know what they’re talking about. They may even come to think, “Maybe I just dreamed it all up?” and give up on their search for nostalgic connection.

Until the day one person finds an old screenshot from whatever the show was and shares it. That’s when everyone will flip out because, Holy shit, that’s it! That’s the show! At which point, they will collectively and slowly realize just how messed up the show actually was.

While getting started it felt positively gross the amount fo personal questions it was asking. Why is all that necessary?

Hi. Occasional period haver here. With all due respect, it’s possible that since the context is the menstrual cycle, questions that seem irrelevant to you (as a not-period-haver) might actually be important for the typical end user (period-havers.) Things like age, weight, diet, activity level, and more can all play a role in how someone’s period affects them. But I have no plans to download this, or any other tracker app, so I can’t independently determine the extent to which that’s the case.

Could anyone who signed up provide some specific question examples?

(Edit: Replied to the wrong post. Sorry!)

It has to be kept simple, and packaged like a low-effort meme. Anything too wordy or think-y won’t go viral in the circles that need targeting.

Maybe we need some fake Facebook pages. Start by reposting crap you already know they’ll share. Once the audience is there, start slowly slipping actual facts into things. It’s gotta start slow, though. The “long con.”

Indeed, and it’ll get worse. Plenty of women (on popular dating sites, at least) have already been swearing off dating Republicans. Now, with a higher likelihood of a national abortion ban, don’t be surprised if straight women become even choosier. After all, every man we think of sleeping with must now also be viewed as a potential father.

Forget about casual flings or one-night-stands. Why would I risk a lifetime of supporting an entire human being just to have one night of fun?

And that’s only for straight women. Bisexual/pansexual women can choose to straight up stop dating men entirely.

In a lot of ways, lonely young men who voted for Trump just shot themselves in the dick.

Some people in the complaints believed they were talking directly with Musk, a sadly common story that has popped up in news reports before.

I remember when I thought I was talking directly to a celebrity online… when I was 13. It didn’t take long to realize how stupid that idea was. To be a grown adult and still think there’s a chance a celebrity is sending messages to random people is mind-boggling.

I cringe at the memories now, but at least I can take comfort in having learned about catfishing long before I had money to lose from it.

Nah, in this case the M in MILF stands for “Men.” It’s obviously an app for gay males hookups. That’s the real reason why wives aren’t allowed to join.

It’s all cyclical anyway. No social media company will reign forever. We’ve already seen a number of them rise and fall. It’s kinda like how different civilizations gained and lost dominance throughout history.

So instead of just making an appointment for say October 30, you have to wait until October 23rd, call in, try to get set up for the following week (if available) and then you get a confirmed date. Also, if you miss an appointment and don’t make a new one within a week they will discharge after another 7 days.

Holy crap, that’s downright sadistic. That’s like putting the physical rehab center on the top floor of a multistory building that only has stairs.

Changing insurance and moving locations means I haven’t got a PCP either. That’s another chain of phone calls I still have to do. 😐

I began and gave up this process several times in the past few months. Ngl, I was close to crying at a few points during this phone chain. But you know what spurred me this time? Thinking about how much money I pay for health insurance, knowing that some company was raking money off my every paycheck regardless of if I got care or not. That resentment gave me the push to keep dialing.

I haven’t seen the movies, but I feel like the majority of kids who play with Barbies inevitably make them marry and/or screw each other. I had like 20 female dolls and only two male dolls, so I wasn’t sure how else I was supposed to “pair” them off.

This article looks like someone “wrote” it using speech-to-text and didn’t double-check their work.

tossing a hard driving

the whole thing could be for not (instead of “the whole thing could be for naught.”)

and of course,

In a statement to Whales Online

Of course, if it turns out that whales have banded together to make their own website, I’ll stand corrected.

making my phone do their stupid bong sound

-Rapid bubbling- -Short burst of coughs- “Bruh, we should totally get munchies.”

I wonder how much this will come back to hurt the company. Musk & co. want to play dumb games? Enjoy watching all the potential Xitter users in Brazil flock to Bluesky and other platforms while your site remains in the dark.

Xitter isn’t special. People will find ways to socialize online with or without it. And the longer people go without it, the more momentum other sites will gain. Whether this stalling is deliberate or unintented doesn’t matter, the fact is they’re only hurting their own bottom line when an entire country is disengaged from their platform.

In other words, keep it up, Elon. It’s fun to see some natural consequences arise from your stupid behavior.

I don’t have a stake in this argument, as this is my first time learning about Doctorow. I just want to add that a good phrase to express the situation you described is “potential conflict of interest.”

Sounds like The Windy City was just trying to defend its title.

Thank goodness for mute buttons.