first statement } audio; un: archivist

[aparticularlyhollowlaugh]

[oho, what’s this? a new voice on the network?]

Erm … I suppose it’s customary in a situation like this to introduce myself. [he lightly clears his throat before continuing:] My name is Jonathan - erm, Jon. Sims. [and he really has to bite down on the impulse to add the archivist after that.] I am somewhat new here and have yet to meet many of you. [which is intentional, on jon’s part.] But I - I actually just have a question, seeing as - if I understand the situation correctly - we are all from different places.

[jon hesitates for a moment and takes a deep breath to steady his nerves. public speaking is so much less comfortable than reading statements into a tape recorder.]

Have any of you heard of something called The Vast?

Comments

[aparticularlyhollowlaugh]

I am not illiterate.

[HOW VERY DARE.]

Any reasonable person would’ve had difficulty deciphering your jumble of numbers and letters, if they were able to overlook the blinding color you chose to type out that unintelligible wall of text.

[red6l99d]

[D a r e s.]

How am I to know? It's the only conclusion I could have drawn since you recognized them as 'numbers and letters'. I did take steps to make sure to make amends. I did switch to vocals for you. In the same way that, while they are words filled with hateful intent, I won't take what you just said in that manner. You are, through no fault of your own as us per usual, not as educated as I in the ways of sensitivity to other cultures as is clear from your perspective and micro aggressions. However, again, I am here now and perhaps that's why I was chosen to be here.

Now if you'll indulge me—[He doesn't have a choice.]—those 'numbers and letters' are an important part of any individual within my society though it varies from person to person. And that 'blinding color' as you put it is also very important. Not only to me, but to many people in positive and negative ways in my society. Mainly positive as there's no reason to assume you have to be ashamed of any one part of yourself, your heritage or your social situations in any variance of the level you could be experiencing them on.

I'm summating this for you, I hope you're able to follow? I don't mind repeating myself.

[aparticularlyhollowlaugh]

[jon is getting angrier by the minute throughout all of this, and it takes a lot of restraint to keep from simply hanging up.]

Just - stop talking! Good lord, do you even listen to yourself?

[red6l99d]

Yes, I do? Is something wrong?

[aparticularlyhollowlaugh]

Is something wrong?

[now jon has to wonder if he’s just being fucked with. surely no one is this dense.]

I have not heard such condescending and, frankly, insulting prattle in quite a long time. You must be exhausted after all the jumping to conclusions you’ve done.

[red6l99d]

Ah. I understand. You have nothing to be ashamed of, you realize? You couldn't have known and for that I can't fault you. Please, in the future, just consider the points I've laid out for you.

[aparticularlyhollowlaugh]

[with a muffled noise of frustration, jon hangs up.]

audio; un: panoptes

[sisterswitch]

[hi guess who's here to ruin everything.]

You know, there's also a point to be made here about accessibility. Color blindness is fairly common with humans, and red-green is the most common. Not that I'm assuming this guy is human - just stating a little fact that you've missed.

Audio;

[red6l99d]

I'm not certain what you mean to say. Seeing one colour versus the other does not negate one's ability to read, only that it echoes a different view of a colour. I wouldn't stoop as low to assume that someone hadn't the frame of mind to know a colour based on their own life long input. If not they make the cognitive correlation.

Also it has been my experience that Jon is a human name, but I cannot confirm or deny either of these things based simply on that. I have only met but a few humans.

[sisterswitch]

Sweetie, red-green color blindness doesn’t swap one for the other - it makes both indistinguishable. And it’s pretty hard to read a wall of text if you can’t see the text, obviously. So it’s really insensitive and kinda ableist to assume illiteracy when it could be a disability.

[red6l99d]

Your informal use of 'sweetie' is not a welcome addition to the conversation. Not only but it usually caters to advances I am uninterested in. If I say a colour is one thing to someone who doesn't know, they learn that colour as what I've said. If it was impossible for him to see, he wouldn't have said they were jumble of letters and numbers. Further to say comprehension around here lacks tremendously. Comprehension of both audio and visual seem to be a difficulty for a great many on this ship. Thankfully I am patient.

[sisterswitch]

OK, one, people here need to stop assuming I'm hitting on them, 'cause unless you're a cute girl, I'm absolutely not, and two - you're being a dick. Maybe you missed this hashtag on Tumblr, but trying to force someone to conform to your idea of normal is literally ableist.

[red6l99d]

I enjoy your dichotomy, but I'm uninterested in your skewed word twisting or self flattery. Is that all that happens here? It's been all I've entertained with this entire time. Now, if you'll excuse me, my further disinterest is in your opinion of me or the erroneous characterization of the help I'm offering.

[sisterswitch]

Bye, Felicia.