internet: how do we counteract the issue of multiple people feeling left out/intimidated to approach discussion threads in this fandom? at the moment a lot of the solutions seem extremely focused on the person-as-outlier when that's clearly, obviously not the case based on what

i'm hearing. from my perspective, i've debated leaving this fandom probably about 4-5 times, at least for a break, because the advice of just "putting myself forward" no longer works when i am in extreme, severe mental distress and constant cognitive fatigue.

the equivalent of "just take a break if you feel this way!" feels like again, being placed as an outlier, and everyone else leaving the room i'm in and quietly shutting the door behind them.

like, at the moment, i'm not having fun. i feel isolated and lonely and distressed and like i'm intruding on conversations constantly, and i am so fucking tired and ill, and i just. i don't have a solution! it's bad! it's just fucking bad!

we're all in a fucking global pandemic and trying to figure things out as a community and miserably fucking struggling via the internet through all of our own shit and i feel pressured to try and solve it because this. is what i have. socially. right now. this is it.

i do not have fucking alternatives, as many of us don't, so you know what? fuck this. fuck. this.

if you reply to this, i'm going to start tagging you directly in threads i think you're interested in. tell me what kind you're into. if i see it, i'll do it.

no promises other than that bc i literally have nothing else to give to people right now, but i am so, so tired of seeing people stressed out and thinking they're the problem when this is an unreliable fucking site that privileges time zones and the ability to ~push through~.

FUCK telling people they need to push through and just try harder to interact and giving them no alternatives for mutual aid and support. everyone is trying their fucking best right now. everyone is feeling isolated and frightened and insecure.

what is a fandom meant to be if not a community? so: this is what i can do to fucking help. it's not a fucking lot, but let me fucking help you. tell me what kind of things you'd like to be tagged in. i can't promise how long i can keep it up, because i'm one person. but i'll try