Modding on the Spectrum - where you can discuss gaming and modding in all aspects of life

[Selene310187]

The first part of the text is about our target audience, our goal and main purpose and the topics our members talk about. In the second part I explain the different discussion hubs.

As a side note, I post the Community News with links to interesting threads here in this thread about once in a month (started in April 2023) .

Target audience, goal and main purpose

Whom we address:

You. We welcome all people - regardless if you identify as neurodivergent or not. The Spectrum is a place for everyone because life is a spectrum in itself:

Life is a spectrum with extremes at either end, and in the middle, there is balance. The experience of life has the potential to be whatever we make of it.

source: https://medium.com/know-thyself-heal-thyself/life-is-a-spectrum-efabc4e2ad85




Our goal and main purpose:
Our long-term goal is bringing neurodiversity and modding (mod creation and using mods), and respectively gaming, closer together.

Gathering people who share their ideas, knowledge or problems without feeling judged for their individual conditions is the main purpose of Modding on the Spectrum.


The topics

Our everyday topics:
We talk about mods and gaming for example. Members can link to their own mods or share links to mods on other sites.


Our special topics:
Neurodiversity and mental health.



The discussion hubs


The Modding hub:

That's the core of the Spectrum.

At the moment, we offer discussion areas for these moddable games:

Bethesda Games: Elder Scrolls series and Fallout series
CD Projekt Red Games: Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher series
BioWare Games: Dragon Ages series and the Mass Effect series
Piranha Bytes Games: Elex series and the Gothic series

If you want to talk about a game that is not listed, then the Gaming Corner is the right place :wink:.


Each listed moddable game section consists of a General Discussion, Mod Showcase (mod releases and reviews), Work in Progress, Mod Support (mod ideas, search and issues) and Modding Tools discussion area.

Regarding Skyrim Special Edition, our member Avrie regularly posts mod reviews in the Coffee with an old Khajiit thread.



The Neurodiversity hub:


In the Neurodiversity hub, there's the Mental Health area where everyone can ask for advice regarding their personal problems or problems of closed ones. Did someone tell you that you play too much or waste your time modding your precious game to the fullest? That you should go outside or meet your friends more often? Your worries are heard there and together we find a solution. The List of Feel Good Activities can help to improve your mood.

If your problem is related to (various) neurodivergent conditions, post it in the general neurodiversity discussion. This section is also about experiencing neurodiversity in everyday life and how it's perceived in the different kinds of media like social media, television, games or literature.

On top of that, we have discussion areas for specific neurodivergent conditions like Autism or ADHD/ADD.

If you are worried about addressing some sensible subjects, there's always the possibility to hide certain parts of your text to guests using the hide BBCode of the board.



Quoting our experienced community member smr1957:

For too long, people have been told - and convinced - that discussion of any type of health issues (mental or otherwise) should not be done - "don't talk about it," "don't let people know," and that doing so is a sign of weakness. WRONG! These are topics that should be brought into the open so that people can see that they are issues that effect EVERYBODY and are nothing to be ashamed of - and that people should be as comfortable talking about these things as they would about any other subject.

I couldn't have said it any better.



The Lounge hub:
Everything from everyday talk (Regulars' Table), arts, to music and everything related to technology and programming can be found in the Lounge.



Feel free to ask any questions you have :smile:



Fine but what does "neurodiverse" and "neurodivergent" mean?
People with various neurological differences identify as neurodiverse like individuals with ADHD or dyslexia. On the other hand, people on the autistic spectrum are originally referred to as neurodivergent. Nowadays, this self-identifying label "has been used to describe those who think, behave, and learn differently to what is typical in society" (source).

The Spectrum has a glossary explaining different terms related to neurodiverse and neurodivergent subjects.

Edited April 26, 2023 by Selene310187

[Selene310187]

Woohoo, we have 10 members now :happy:! The hub slowly gains traction.

[smr1957]

Slow but steady - the site will continue to grow as even more people become members and pass the word along!

[Selene310187]

The Spectrum has a shiny new feature:

 

User galleries :dance:

 

 

All users can see how the games of the members look for example and members have the possibility to create personal albums.

 

 

In addition, I wrote a user guide which lists all relevant information like target audience, images, video embedding or ranks.

[Selene310187]

Yesterday, I wrote an in-depth article about Modding on the Spectrum including its history and why I created the site in the first place. You can find the article on Selene's Shadow Realm: https://selenesshadowrealm.com/modding-on-the-spectrum

[Selene310187]

The moddable games areas have been restructured and I added discussion hubs for the Elex and Gothic series for example.

 

 

 

If you are into short stories, a couple of members have written some:

 

A selection:

The Adventures of Etienne

Floating Island of Legends - The Story

The Story Collector

 

 

 

Furthermore, I made the specific neurodivergent sections visible to the public. But the members have the possibility to hide sensitive information to guests.

[Selene310187]

I updated the first post of the thread giving you more information about whom we address, the goals, the main purpose of Modding on the Spectrum, the different discussion hubs and much else.

[Selene310187]

Allow me to summarize the recent developments regarding Modding on the Spectrum.

Forum navigation:

I spent the last couple of weeks to improve the navigation in the forum, for example, by putting shortcut links into the forum descriptions of the modding hub which you can see in the board index. So you don't need to click through several forum levels to get to the discussion area of the game series in question (e.g. The Elder Scrolls series or the Mass Effect series).

The Neurodiversity hub:

It has been expanded with a guide for new users and a glossary. I moved the discussion areas of Autism, ADHD/ADD and co. to the new category "Specific Neurodivergent Sections" to make the board index more compact.

New BBCodes:

hashtag and non-breaking space ("nbsp")

 

 

A general offer: The #AskSelene31Something advice series

Not everyone can talk openly about mental health and neurodiversity related topics due to various reasons (e.g. the fear of stigmatization). I got the idea to be the mouthpiece of the people concerned. They can send me the questions and I post them on their behalf in the Neurodiversity hub of Modding on the Spectrum and answer the questions at the same time. Please understand that I cannot answer the questions right away* because I'm up to my ears in work (like maintaining the Spectrum, working on my mod projects and some other stuff). I collect the sent questions to build up a pool. From time to time, I pick something from this pool and write about the subject in more detail.

All answered questions will be marked with the #AskSelene31Something hashtag so you can find them easily on Modding on the Spectrum.

 

 

If you want to know how my words of advice can look like, here's an example:

 

Hey Selene, should I disclose my diagnosis or not?

 

 

 

A question can be sent to me by:

• Writing a comment without the need of an account below the article on Selene's Shadow Realm.
• Posting in this thread on Modding on the Spectrum (combine it with the hide BBCode to feel more comfortable)
• using the Spectrum's contact form (for the ones that need an extra portion of discreetness :wink:)
• writing me a personal message on Nexus Mods

If you choose the third or fourth option, please put the “#AskSelene31Something” hashtag at the beginning of the subject (or the message body) so I can distinguish your message from the other messages better.

 

 

* I know that this can be difficult if the questioner is currently in a crisis and needs an immediate answer for the problem in question. That's why I mentioned for example the crisis line at the end of this post.

 

[Selene310187]

Amendment statement to the #AskSelene31Something advice series:

 

 

I'm well aware that these subjects are very personal ones and it takes courage to entrust them to a stranger like me. It's very likely that I'm a stranger to you. Or maybe you think that I'm not qualified enough to be a adviser. But if you ask me, you don't need to be a professional to be able to help a person. How often do you ask a good friend and the members of your family for advice regarding your very own problems? I admit, problems related to mental health and neurodiversity are a bit different. You don't have to call a spade a spade. It often does help when you talk about the limitations that you have (e.g. sensitivity to noise).

It can take some time that I build enough trust that you can entrust yourself to me and I give you the time. My offer to be your "agony aunt" still stands.

Until then I use the pool of my own questions to fill the #AskSelene31Something advice series :wink:.

 

Edit:

I forgot to mention that I sometimes post mental health related topics on Selene's Shadow Realm. No, it's not like the advice series. I just want to talk about my own experiences without giving a direct advice (I already do this on Modding on the Spectrum).

 

 

Edited February 7, 2023 by Selene310187

[Selene310187]

Today, I thought about what the forum, Modding on the Spectrum, can be. How can I explain it.... It was my initial idea to build a forum which should be a safe place for gamers/mod users/mod creators on the autistic spectrum. The forum got its first members and they contributed new ideas or sparked new ideas in my mind. With each cycle of new ideas the target audience of Modding on the Spectrum expanded and finally included all gamers, mod users and mod creators. I didn't communicate this clear enough in the last couple of months; I have to live with the result probably for a long time. The forum was once my idea, I shaped it, laid the groundwork and had hold the reins. This doesn't mean that I resign as admin. I just try to stay more in the background as admin, let things take their course, and take part in as a user more often. You will notice that I made some adjustments to my profile on Modding on the Spectrum to emphasize the focus on being more a user than an admin. I always saw the admin thing as embellishment and, if I'm honest, I don't need this big red admin banner :wink:.