Show HN: I built an active community of trans people online
An emerging social app for trans and gender‑nonconforming people is drawing both praise for offering a dedicated, minimalist community space and concern over prominent NSFW content and safety risks. Commenters focus on the need for robust moderation, opt‑in adult content filters, age verification, and strong security practices to protect a vulnerable user base from doxxing, harassment, and shifting legal regimes in the US and UK. The thread also touches on monetization, open‑source transparency, and why trans users often prefer specialized platforms over mainstream dating or social apps.
Design, UX, and Platform Choices
- Many praise the minimalist, fast-loading text interface; some find it confusing or visually uncomfortable (low contrast, tight spacing, “heavy” scrolling).
- Several want more padding, clearer separation between posts, and better indication that the native app is the “real” experience.
- Some dislike that it’s app-first/app-only and would prefer a fully featured web client, both for accessibility and perceived safety.
- Others ask why not just run a Mastodon instance or Discord server; response in-thread notes Mastodon is harder to monetize.
NSFW Content, Moderation, and Legal Risk
- A dominant theme: sexually explicit posts are front-and-center and surprise or repel some visitors, especially non-trans allies and people browsing at work.
- Many argue NSFW content should be opt-in, hidden for logged-out users, and clearly tagged; the creator repeatedly commits to adding an NSFW toggle, tagging system, and hiding NSFW from non-logged-in/non-opted-in users.
- Concerns raised about exposing minors to sexual content, workplace filters, and conflicting norms around what counts as NSFW.
- Experienced moderation/Trust & Safety folks strongly urge robust policies, appeal processes, and tooling, noting laws like FOSTA-SESTA, NCMEC reporting, and UK’s Online Safety Act could create serious liability.
Safety, Privacy, and Security
- Multiple threads warn this is a high-value target for doxxing, harassment, and hostile governments, especially given the current political climate for trans people.
- Suggestions include: minimize logging, use encryption, encourage pseudonymity, threat-model carefully, and possibly geoblock risky jurisdictions.
- The creator describes: using row-level security, adding noise to stored locations (approx. 5-mile radius), and interest in obscuring email/OAuth data; some argue even coarse location is too revealing and ask why it’s stored at all.
- Legal-structure advice includes forming an LLC but noting it doesn’t fully shield personal liability.
Community Norms and Purpose
- Many trans and queer commenters welcome a dedicated space; some describe existing apps (e.g., Grindr, Lex) as hookup-focused, profit-driven, or hostile to trans users.
- Discussion explores why trans people often date other trans/queer people and why sexual openness is more common in queer spaces; others criticize the content as “perverted” or “horny first, community second.”
- Some question whether launching such a visible trans-specific network now “paints a bullseye”; others counter that such communities are needed precisely because of rising hostility.