we haven't seen tom in 2 months :(

i hope he's ok

thank you

ahh that's unfortunate. thanks anyway!

i do have a question, sure

for the avoidance of doubt, you are saying that a matrix bridge can copy all previous messages over from a discord server, to a matrix server, even the messages made before the creation of the bridge? i.e, transfer the entire conversation log over to the matrix server, going back all the way to the first message in a channel?

actually, phrasing this another way, i just caught myself in the XY problem. what i need really, is a copy of a given discord server's content, onto a fresh matrix server. bridge or no bridge. is there any way to (broadly) copy and paste the content of a discord channel over to a matrix server, one time only. i know how to extract the discord content using the discord chat log tool, tokens etc. so, say i have one of those html files with the full chatlog and contents - how do i put that into a matrix server, and have it roughly readable? (if that's possible)

thank you for your patience, i have tried search engines for months with no clear answers

this might be a good place for me to reach out into the void

i'm interested in migrating two of my servers over to a matrix server, but i also want to back-copy all the old messages to the matrix client.

does a matrix bridge do all this copying? i.e, if i was to setup a discord-matrix bridge, allow messages to sync, and then disconnect the bridge, does the matrix server then have a copy of all the old messages? it doesn't have to match to the old users or anything, i'm just interested in having the content migrate over.

this is currently the biggest hurdle for me, because one of my servers is a private family discord, and i really don't want to have to explain to my mum that "all the content of the last 4 years is gone" 😅

The so-called “spy clause” in the UK’s Online Safety Bill, which experts argued would have made end-to-end encryption all but impossible in the country, will no longer be enforced...

oh okay. so they're still going to pass it into law anyway, and then pinky promise not to enforce it. right... 🤦

yep this is exactly the issue. NT people giving advice to brains that can't use it. it's all mostly-worthless advice! 😃 it's good for me to call it out, but better if i offer advice myself, right? practice what you preach

(apologies, this post got out of hand. tl;dr is at the bottom)

if you are someone reading this who is doing the job search, i want to offer some three-part advice around interviews, from an autistic brain who has been down this road before:

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first part: consider that most interviews are not an assessment of your actual job skills - they are an assessment of your social skills, and they use your level of social skill as a proxy to decide on your job skill. i know that claim sounds ridiculous, but once you think about it, it makes sense, meditate on it for a moment

we will consider the case of applying for a shelf-stacking job. i will be blunt, from a technical standpoint, this job is not hard at all. stock inventory machine says you need to put 3 loaves of bread out? you grab 3 loaves from out back, and put them on the shelf, preferably in reverse order of expiry. customer asks for something? you stop what you're doing, and go with the customer to their request, no matter what your current task is. one of your colleagues needs help on the cash register? you... get on the cash register. each action in this job has a definitve correct answer, and many wrong ones. you can study these correct answers beforehand

if you're prepared, it's not really a job you can fuck up, mostly (don't worry, he lived). however, here's the pickle - by the time you get to interview, nearly all candidates have the base technical skills required for that position, since (these days) weaker candidates are filtered out before the interview, for not knowing how the CV ATS keyword game works. only strong candidates who have done the prep work remain

it leaves little room for an interviewer to filter out who should be selected for the job. if we presume the interviewer is also barred from conducting work trials, it leaves the interviewer with nothing else to measure, other than the candidate's social skills. put simply, if you have two equal candidates, and one of them can talk to customers in a more "NT-style", then the candidate with the best social skills will be chosen. it's no wonder then, that at least 85% of adults that are autistic, are unemployed. most of these are also degree holders 👩‍🎓

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with that context, here's my second part: i learned this lesson years ago from an older acquaintance who has passed on now. she arrived in the UK after being expelled from her country. this was the second time she had to move to a new land, and her second time arriving in a place where you were judged by who you are

she discovered an environment of "social relegation", where some employers were quite happy to hire "different", so long as they were not visible. example: she could work in a kitchen, but not as a server. or she could work in the warehouse, but not the food counter (because people didn't want "someone like her" handling their food). she could work manufacturing textiles, but not as a sales rep pushing the finished clothes

this is how it was in the 60s/70s in the UK, and it can be boiled down to "no blacks, no dogs, no irish". i have an irish background myself, and i've heard enough stories like this

since she grew up in a less enlightened time, there was no easy fix for her predicament. social change would not come soon enough for her, and after years of being in and out of positions, realised this lesson:

"...you have to be so skilled, and so needed, for the job you are applying for, that they want you before they see you..."

years later, she would find herself a stable position in the NHS (UK healthcare system)

now, i want to be clear. i think that society should adapt to be more inclusive. however, in the context of getting a job, i am being pragmatic about it, and understand that the necessary change wont arrive in time for people like us take advantage of it. i am not defending the status quo, just contextualizing it. i would encourage you to take the lesson she gave me directly to heart

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with these two contexts, here's my last part (warning: opinion time): "you're gonna get clocked, sooner, or later"

if you try, and try, and try, to study how the social dance of interviews work, and wargame scenarios for all outcomes, you will burnout. the depth of social interaction is as vast as space, and you don't have a warp drive. if you disregard this, and try the path anyway, you may be clocked in your interview as "different", and will then be left with two outcomes, both are varying degrees of bad

1. you discolse you are autistic. personally, i've had no luck with this, and in my opinion, you will give them a perfect reason to "no longer move forward with your application". illegal? sure. but remember, it's not the autism, it's because you're "just not a good fit" 🥴
2. you do not disclose your autism. if you get clocked, then it's game over. you will be let go for "being unsociable", and it won't be discriminatory to do so because they reasonably didn't know about your autism

my recommendation? forget about trying to game the social dance of the interview. another analogy, would be if a wheelchair user is faced with a flight of stairs. that's how damning interviews are to autistic people. you need to find a ramp, lift, or other way to get around this obstacle. you're not going up those stairs, so you must go around. while interviews should be more inclusive, currently, they are not very inclusive at all. so, we have to work with the hand we are dealt

firstly, you need to reflect on your desired career choice. if it's a career that has high competition, and is saturated by graduates? honestly? you need to reconsider, because it's not gonna happen. at interview time, you will be competing against social butterflies and masters of the dance, and you will be trounced if you try to interview for these jobs. even worse, these positions sometimes use group interviews because there are so many candidates, and some candidates will actively step on you to succeed

secondly, research what jobs are in really high demand. we're talking really, really high demand. the sort of demand that wont go away easily in the next 10 years. you need to look for jobs that are so hot, that they need bodies in seats, and they need them now. if you want an indicator, you should be considering anything in healthcare, technology, or finance (in order of amorality). the demand in these sectors will not go away anytime soon. if you need something more physical to do for work, consider solar panel/wind turbine/AC installation - all of these are going to grow massively because of climate change

thirdly, you need to reflect whether you are the sort of person who could handle a full "in-person" job, or whether remote work is right for you. this is a personal decision, i can't help with this. each autistic person is different. some thrive by having a rich environment of sights and sounds to engage with, and others (i suspect most, lol) need a workplace that is a quiet box, preferably miles away from colleagues. i know i'm on the "remote" side of this dilemma

once you've picked remote or traditional, then take that knowledge back to the list of in-demand jobs, and shortlist some positions that look promising. your final task is to filter this shortlist for positions that you either have the qualifications for, or you can acquire qualifications cheaply for, or can be self-taught. personally, i think self-teaching is going to be your big weapon, and your key advantage over NT candidates. remember, you need to be so good, that the interviewer doesn't give a damn whether you fumble the social dance

daunting as it is to re-skill for a new career path, you should consider in 5 years time, would you rather be yourself right now (status quo), or be yourself + a bunch of newly learnt skills? you won't be getting any younger! it's never too late to re-spec. i think definitely, definitely re-spec for an in-demand job, and by doing so, your interview worries will lessen. the worries never goes away, but you can be reasonably confident that your new, in-demand skillset will carry you over the finish line

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in summary:

1. it's no wonder we struggle with interviews, because interviews don't assess your job skills - they assess your social skills. it's a trap that they dont teach you! no wonder that 85% of adults that are autistic, are unemployed.
2. to counter this, "...you have to be so skilled, and so needed, for the job you are applying for, that they want you before they see you...". this is how you can individually mitigate against a biased recruitment process
3. with that in mind, research the highest demand jobs within your reach. find the job sectors that are in so high demand that they willingly look past the social skills, and then re-spec your skillset to match this demand. i'm not saying it's easy, no. it's necessary.

good luck, stranger ❤️

real world link rot, lol

have you considered the EU? here's some routes for you:

if you are degree qualified, then look into getting an EU blue card. it's the EU's answer to the green card, and it's probably the best way for anyone who's got the chops. it gives you a near free pick at where you specifically end up. try this page to get a feel of eligible locations, some of the locations need big boy salary, so might be off-limits

do you have any grandparents (or great-grandparents) that are from europe? some countries offer citizenship through descent. if you can prove the descent, then you can register as a citizen. 100% worth checking this. it's a long shot, with a huge payout if it's valid. common ones you can check are italy, ireland, hungary, germany (maybe?)

third option for you - "digital nomad" visas are a thing that's growing. you pick up a remote job for one EU state, and then you can get a visa to live in... a different EU state!? you pay the taxes to the state that is giving you the remote job, and you live in the state that provides the visa. the idea being, where does it even matter where you work, if it's a remote job? so long as your dues are paid, you can go wild! some digital nomad visas even let you bring family along. not all EU states offer this, you would have to do individual research.

if you are serious about moving somewhere, genuinely serious, then take actionable steps to do it, today. i am a couple years down the path of taking steps to move myself. i don't know how old you are, but you don't want to look back and think "i could have took measurable steps when i was younger to get out of here, and i didn't". wherever your chosen destination, make it your mission. keep your eyes on the prize.

and lastly, if it doesn't work out, oh well? at least you tried! you will have gained life experience some americans would dream to get, and you should be able to move back simply. you can't shake US citizenship that easily ;)

ahh you must watch out for the "[fruit] juice" vs "[fruit] juice drink" meme

on the packet somewhere, it will specify, for the example of your case, "apple juice", or "apple juice drink"

anything that is a "juice drink" is just not the good stuff. a "juice drink" can have basically anything they want in there, with some 0.0001% real fruit to cover themselves legally. always look out for "juice" on it's own, that's the 100% real stuff

i say this because i got bitten by buying the cheapest apple "juice" once, to find out it was a "juice drink", i.e not apple juice.

oh god it's not just "some people" are influenced, it's "most people" are influenced?? 💀

it's no wonder that "influencer" is a job title, yikes!

also, this line made me laugh:

Instead, the autistic shopper focuses on what really matters: ingredients, price, and the necessity of even owning the product. Time and again they select the best product for their needs regardless of how it is displayed.

when they spell out the reasons like this, it's very funny because it's written like we're specimens in a zoo (imagine the david attenborough voice), and that we're all acting strangely. no, we're the ones acting rational, you're the strange ones!

that's a nice article. glad to see my reasoning validated. thank you for sharing ❤️