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Online Community

Picture of Anzi By   ·  2 minute read

Online Community

DT4T’S online community is made up of a Members-Only website.

To begin with, we have a temporary Members-Only website (powered by a tool called MembershipWorks [link opens in new tab]) that features text-based Personal Ads and a Discussion Forum.

Meanwhile, our IT Team of Stewards is working to build a bespoke, Members-Only App that features tools for Community Care Planning, care team coordination, and building social connections more easily, in an interface that is the antithesis of algorithmic social media. We hope that this App will be ready for launch in late 2027.

The following are the features available in our temporary Members-Only website:

Personal Ads

Classified ads used to be an important way for queer people to find each other, using coded language to communicate about their desires. Historically, they have a sexual connotation, but at DT4T, we use this short-form, text-based format to seek out anything from at-home haircuts to crafting buddies to, yes, kinky and sexual connections.

Those familiar with the popular app, Lex, will have an idea of what this component of the Online Community will look like—but, unlike Lex, we’re not caving to rainbow capitalism or the pressure to model ourselves after social media. We’re sticking with simple, text-based ads that lead to one-on-one interactions. No “liking” or “U-hauling” posts. No comment sections. 

Because part of our mission as a community is to coexist beyond capitalism, and because most of our Members are financially struggling, we do not allow any posts requesting money. We have a separate Mutual Aid Board that is updated monthly, where folks with the means to donate can see everyone who needs financial or material support that month. Personal Ads are reserved for non-monetary forms of aid, like medical supplies, gender-affirming clothing, and offering assistance services like house cleaning, personal care, etc.

We can also use Personal Ads to advertise our personal business endeavors, as long as they are aligned with Our Commonalities & Core Values. Goods and services include tattooing, hair-cutting, herbal remedies, handmade crafts, and more. 

When we click on a post, we’re taken to the author’s Personal Profile, where we can see their post history and message them.

Member Directory & Personal Profiles

Every Member of DT4T has a Personal Profile that lists all the information we choose to share with other Members. That information includes as much or as little of the following as we want:

  • Name
  • Pronouns
  • City (searchable)
  • Age
  • Bio
  • Member since
  • Languages
  • Open to meeting (searchable)
    • Potential friends
    • Potential supportive connections
    • Potential sexual connections
    • Potential BDSM connections
  • Able to offer (searchable)
    • Rides to appointments
    • Assistance with chores
    • Assistance with personal care
    • Financial assistance
    • Spare clothing
    • Medical supplies
    • DIY meds
    • etc.
  • Selling (searchable)
    • Tattoos
    • Hair cuts
    • Weed
    • Crafts
    • Herbal remedies
    • Card readings
    • etc.
  • Personal Ads Post History (searchable)

All Members have access to the Member Directory, where we can browse everyone’s Personal Profiles. We can also search by location (proximity within X miles), age, what Members are seeking, what Members are able to offer, and what Members are selling.

Communication Between Members

While our temporary app does not have an innate messaging feature, it does offer two we can get in touch with each other:

  1. On Member Profiles and Personal Ad listings, there is a "send message" button that will allow any Member to send a message to your email inbox without knowing your email address. It's then your choice whether to reply to that message, revealing your email address to the other Member, or to disregard the message. If you don't want to receive messages this way, you can disable this feature under "Privacy" settings.

  2. When editing their Member Profiles and Personal Ad listings, Members can choose to list their contact information, including email address, phone number, Signal handle, Instagram handle, TikTok handle, and other contact info. It's optional to include this information, but if you choose to share, it, expect that other Members will use this information to contact you.

Mutual Aid Board

Every month, Members have the opportunity to submit their financial aid needs to the Mutual Aid Board. Whenever we have money to distribute, Members can check out that board to find out who needs help.