Is Scope Disability Friendly anymore?

@Bluebell21

I feel the same regarding comments made to be by @baller

I will also be leaving this discussion.

It upsets me to see members upset as i know you all have good intentions at heart and have been so supportive on the forum to me and many others hope you are ok

I'll not say much more lest my words get misconstrued.

What I take away about being a member of this forum is that you need to abide by the House rules, but the Scope team will always use their discretion in dealing with any issues.

It would be naive to think that the Scope team don't get to know us, & our intent (as well as anybody can), but the main thing is that this is a safe & civil space for everyone.

All sorts of things have been brought up in response to rubin's query even tho new members, different ways of communicating, 'Ranks,' etc., don't seem to be a part of the problem from what other members have said.

When the Scope team have noticed, ''a rise in comments that, while sometimes ambiguous in wording, can come across as passive-aggressive, sarcastic, or needling'' as mentioned on p3 of this thread, together with saying, ''dismissive reactions, sarcastic responses, or comments that undermine others’ contributions are not acceptable'' then members are not imagining the problems they've identified.

Safety & safeguarding I appreciate are a very integral part of this community.

I think we are all mindful that our disability community has members with many & varied problems; I think we are all agreed that everybody matters equally, something the Scope team uphold, & I have therefore been saddened to see some of the comments in this thread.

I believe we all want to work together to keep this a safe & supportive community.

@Adrian_Scope - may I make a couple of suggestions:

- I think something like this used to be in the House Rules - ''Please be careful what you say. Not everyone shares the same sense of humour!'' - might it be helpful to add something like this back in?

- I think there had been some discussion previously about the use of the word 'Ranks' as it might be construed that one member seems 'more important than another.' - It had been said that perhaps the use of the word 'Levels' might be better - personally I would do away with them altogether if a way of enabling a member to edit their posts could be obtained by other means; I don't know what others think.

Although I was not going to comment further on this thread, I feel I have no choice when a classic example of passive aggressive behaviour is directed at me.

To start any post with a sentence and I quote "I'll not say much more lest my words get misconstrued" adds nothing to any thread.

To follow this up with and I quote " All sorts of things have been brought up in response to Rubin's query even though new members, different ways of communicating, "Ranks" etc don't seem to be part of the problem from what other members said" is a nonsense.

Communication has been mentioned on nearly every single page and how members might not understand how what they write impacts others.

Rubin's original question was "Do you find Scope non-friendly, toxic and not disability friendly"

As far as I can see all responses are showing where other members have identified why they think this might be.

Members should be working together for a safe and supportive forum for all.

I agree. I also think genuinely working towards a safe and supportive forum includes taking a step back to reflect; being kinder and less willing to be critical of others' well-meaning, good intentions could help.

On the other hand i have met some wonderful wonderful people who i class as friends ive learnt alot especially reflection as said here stop stepback think where as before i was always on the attack personally a lifetime of defending myself also feeling stupid as my spelling bad reading messages so fast like i skim over posts and pick out words if i dont reread i can react but has also been moments of feeling ambushed but truly im grateful for all support advice guidance at some real low points in my life i feel i belong somewhere strange feeling at first but i started to respect and cherise this forum really invalueble a kind word correct information breaking topics down so i umderstand them theres still humanity in the world

There are different ways and reasons for people to feel unsafe posting. For me, it is the knowledge that no matter what I post, someone will come along and twist my words against me. Instead of just sharing their own opinion, there seems to be a need to reinterpret the words of others to prove why they are “wrong”, have framed things “incorrectly”, or are “overlooking” other people's concerns.

Some people may not like one-liners, emojis, or trying to laugh things off, but many people have also tried to express that they do not like passive-aggressive essays, being preached to, or being “corrected”, no matter what they say.

If we are talking about creating a space where people feel safe to participate, that should include allowing people to express themselves in different styles without having their words repeatedly dissected or reframed.