The Gathering...

Reviewed By: Csintalon
Reviewed Date: 01/19/26
My status in this game is: Player
I have been a member of this game since: 01/01/70
I think this game is: 5 / 5

Lacks ND Accessibility

Rating: Terrible

(That's a 1 rating, as Mudverse rating system is broken.)

The Gathering… is unfriendly to neurodivergent (ND) people because of its social design and power dynamics. ND players are disadvantaged in an environment where staff and remaining players rely on unspoken rules, "common sense," tone over substance, and bad-faith assumptions. Direct communication, emotional honesty, asking for clarification, or advocating for fairness are often misread as negativity, manipulation, narcissism, gaslighting, or conflict. Staff authority is inconsistently applied, making social capital and popularity replace clear rules, and therefore safety depends on who is liked and who doesn't cause disruption/"drama".

ND traits like my own were treated as character flaws or bad intent rather than differences in communication or processing. "Community harmony" was used to silence discomfort, while trauma-blind moderation punished emotional reactions instead of supporting regulation and repair. Retroactive punishment, fixation on "history," interpreted as merely repeating past complaints rather instead of what was a player recognizing staff and player's recurring patterns of wrongdoing that were left unaddressed, favoritism toward select players, and judgments based on assumed intent eliminated any path to learning or rebuilding trust. Requests for clarity or accommodation were framed as entitlement, while boundaries and advocacy were labeled disruption.

They also granted staff positions to both favored players and genuinely troublesome ones, giving these individuals the power to punish players they disliked.

The Gathering… is not unsafe because of ND players, but because it punishes neurodivergence traits that staff and remaining players are not familiar with from their lack of understanding.

By prioritizing comfort, hierarchy, and favoritism over transparency, consistency, and repair, staff created an environment where difference is treated as a threat and exclusion is justified as order.

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