Practicum - Kim

When I went back on queerattitude, I noticed they must have recently changed the format of the site. As opposed to the welcome page immediately being a list of disorganized posts, you now have the option of going to posts based on a certain topic. Users can also decide to go to forums, blogs, or a gallery where LGBT teens can post their photo art. I think this gallery is a really cool feature because it allows young members of the community to express and represent themselves in a unique way.

The forum part of the site is now broken up into several different categories: about (help, FAQ), introductions (new members can share a little bit about themselves, which creates a sense of community), open zone (games, non-serious general conversation), starbucks (serious talk - life, relationships, coming out, advice), queer thinking (debates, politics, religion, intellectualism), media net (TV, film, music, news), hot stuff (celebrity gossip, talking about cute guys/girls, what "turns users on"), creation (any type of creative artwork members want to share), response (discussion about any blog or gallery entries), and publicity (members can advertise their cool sites).

I think the way the site is designed now makes it easier for members to focus on their interests and filter out posts and topics they are not concerned with or that they do not care about. It also helps to create a more intimate community because many of the users remain loyal to a specific forum topic and can get to know each other better.

Other issues I considered while observing and participating on this site is if the intended audience of youth LGBT is a good or bad idea, and if there are people who violate this specification and become members anyway. I had thought that the specified age for the site may not be the most helpful for teens seeking advice because other teens may not have knowledgeable answers for them. I quickly realized that the users are not necessarily looking for an answer or advice from a seasoned LGBT "veteran," rather they are more interested in the support system of those who are currently having the same experiences. In addition, these teen members have more in common with their generation of LGBT people, and thus seem to feel more comfortable sharing personal information than on sites like reddit where you have a much lesser idea of who members are. For the issue of if there are people posing as teens on this site: there is really only an assumed honor code of age, and through my observation and communication with the members on queerattitude, there do not appear to be trolls like this. On the contrary, I am not really a qualified member of the site being that I am not LGBT, so I guess anything is possible.