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I think we need to normalize replying to weird or invasive questions and comments from people on tumblr by just telling them that their behavior is inappropriate.
“That is not an appropriate way to speak to someone and I think you need to step back and really think about how you treat other people.”
Don’t stoop to their level. If they want to behave like a child who hasn’t learned social boundaries yet, then treat them that way.
I mean… unironically, yeah. Please remember there are lots of autistic people on this website who don’t have an intuitive sense of non-autistic social boundaries, and it can be helpful for it to be explicitly and non-judgmental spelled out.
Really wish it wasn’t framed as childish, a low level to be “stooped” to, or deserving of condescension, though.
I didn’t mean like accidentally stepping over vague boundaries, I meant really invasive comments about your sex life or questions about your family history or other incredibly personal and private things that the internet has taught us are fair game but would NEVER be appropriate to talk to a stranger about.
And of course the kind of harassment tumblr is very well known for, the overly personal kind where people are deliberately trying to make someone uncomfortable by trampling over social boundaries.
Sometimes people just need to a reminder that they’re talking to a real person who deserves to be treated with the same kind of respect that you’d give to someone you just met on the street or in class, and sometimes people need to be treated like middle school children who knowingly behave inappropriately because they think it’s funny to make people upset and uncomfortable.
No shaming or harassment. Just, “This isn’t an okay way to behave and you need to be aware of that.”
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