Welcome, disabled friends!
Do you have a hard time connecting to others because they simply don’t understand the facts of your every day life? Do you want to talk to people who won’t make you feel like you’re bringing down the mood by so much as mentioning your disability? Do you want to actively gripe about this doctor that’s ignoring you, disability services denying your claims, ableism coming from IRL and other players, or just want to be there for others?
Today, in trade chat, many people were discussing their disability applications being denied, but quickly drowned out by other chatters. That made me thing, why not make a group? WoW, like many MMOs and game communities, has an enormous disabled player base. This is for many reasons, but one of them is the ability to connect with others, and do things we can’t do in real life, in a world that makes us feel trapped and unwanted. Gaming, for many of us, is a blessing.
Come join dGripe! You’re not alone - we’re not alone. Can’t wait to see you there!
Some basic rules and statements
- Ableism is not allowed. One would expect this, but it needs to be plainly stated. A lot of us do not experience the same disabilities, and will not quite understand where someone else is coming from. We do not use slurs. We do not make others feel bad for what they cannot do, even if it seems silly or odd. If someone tells you you’re being ableist, we do not get in arguments, we stop doing the behavior. Discussing why something is ableist is allowed, providing you put a good faith effort into understanding.
- There will be no -isms and -phobias (in the political sense). Disability can affect anyone, at any age, at any time, regardless of race, religion, or whether they’re part of the queer community. On the last bit, the disabled community has an overwhelming amount of queer people; if you cannot behave yourself around such folk, this isn’t the place for you.
- A large part of the disabled community online are autistic people. This means there’s a strong chance you are going to run into very blunt and honest speech. Try to not assume anyone is yelling at you, or angry - this is something autistic people are constantly accused of, while in reality being perfectly calm, friendly, or excited in a good way. Be patient, and try to assume statements as neutral, as there is no tone to be detected over text, unless someone states the tone they mean to type in.
- Please avoid unnecessary drama or squabbling, and follow the ToS.
- I can’t confirm if you’re disabled or not - so be here in good faith.
Breaking rules can lead to a talking-to or being removed, depending on the severity. Thank you for reading these rules and statements, and taking the time to understand them.