Interacting With Me

I am autistic and neurodivergent, so I often misinterpret social cues and tacit communications! I may find it difficult to tell that you are making a joke, or whether someone is angry. Additionally, I have Auditory Processing Disorder (APD), which makes it hard for me to understand spoken words, especially with background noise or multiple speakers.

For these reasons, please be patient with me! Some things I say may hurt or offend you, but know that I am usually unaware of why or how and most likely did not mean to. I encourage you to tell me if I do, and if you want, why it hurts or offends you, so I can learn from it. Of course, you don't have to, but I hope that you can give me a chance to clear things up if I ever do.

Also, please respect my personal boundaries!

Tone Markers

Because I struggle with reading tone and intent, I find tone markers to be a helpful aid in conversation, and make frequent use of a fixed set of them. I don't demand that everyone use them, but I appreciate anyone who does!

List of tone markers I use:
/j (joking): I am trying to make a joke (general).
/s (sarcasm): I am making an untrue statement to highlight the opposite for emphatic or humorous effect.
/srs (serious): I am not trying to make a joke (general). Though, this does not mean I am angry.
/genq (genuine question): I am asking a question in earnest, not as a joke or insult.
/p (platonic): I am not making non-platonic advances towards you. I try to avoid needing to use this.
others: If I find it necessary to indicate something else, I often spell it out: e.g. "/not mad".

These tone markers sit at the end of a message to make the tone and intent of the speaker explicit. Minimally, they indicate that the speaker believes there may be a chance of misinterpretation even if the marker used is not known to the reader. Please do not misuse them! It is not funny to indicate something is "/srs" when it is not, as it only creates confusion and distrust.