I assume the proposition is that trust between coworkers is important (even if you're autistic) and the best way to build extra trust with someone, on top of what you'd normally build just working with them, is to interact with them socially (unless they're autistic and haven't memorised this pattern, in such case they'll just be confused and annoyed).
I think your assumption that this is about "firm guidance" and "optics" and is an insult to your "superpowers" is unlikely to be the motivation.
"How can we have any pudding if we don't eat our meat?!"
Let's worry about extra trust once they start earning trust (and, arguably, their pay) by reviewing the PRs. Leaving those floating deserves none, from nobody.
To reiterate the original post, behaving as if they're a member of the team would be quite welcome, actually. Fun, no: work.
Has there been any hint that the PRs were not being reviewed? I haven't read any suggestion of that in the direct chain of replies.
Sure. Look not to the replies, but the top of the thread. The 'hint':
> " ... can't they read my PRs?"
I know one really good way to answer that. The requirement for the question suggests the same for review.
You're misreading it. Reading the speaker's PRs is presented as an alternative to talking to them, in the same way that if Alice and Bob were arguing whether song lyric sites should exist and Alice asked "can't they listen to the song?", it would be a rhetorical question and would not indicate that Bob did not listen to the song he wanted to read the lyrics of.
Hah. Disagree, don't care to continue. Have fun/take care.