[HN Gopher] Show HN: I help LGBT people to find LGBT homes
___________________________________________________________________
Show HN: I help LGBT people to find LGBT homes
My Gay Flatmate helps the LGBT community to find a safe place to
live. It is a 2-sided platform. People can advirtise their spare
room, and they can also create a profile to say they are looking
for a room. Happy to receive some feedback! I am a solo founder
(not by option)
Author : adrien248
Score : 101 points
Date : 2022-07-19 15:07 UTC (7 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (mygayflatmate.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (mygayflatmate.com)
| hirundo wrote:
| It would be a social good to do the inverse, to help the
| identities integrate instead of segregate. By living together we
| can more easily discover that our gender and sexuality define us
| less than our common humanity. As with our ethnicity and
| religion.
|
| It's easier to see this if you s/LGBT/<other>/.
| Kye wrote:
| You work on that. OP can keep working on triaging the crisis of
| homeless LGBT people.
| Elinvynia wrote:
| As long as arguments like the "trans panic" defense exist and
| are viable in courts, I feel like it's better for queer people
| to stick together.
|
| Your idea while honorable ignores the reality that queer people
| experience and that one of the two parties in the US is
| planning to strip away more of their rights. (See: Recent RvW
| ruling that had their next targets set, like same sex marriage)
| causi wrote:
| Social goods are often the inverse of individual goods. I'm not
| going to make anyone an involuntary advocate.
| carbadtraingood wrote:
| I don't think you understand just how alienated and dangerous
| it is to be queer in America.
|
| There's a crisis in LGBTQ+ housing.
|
| Putting queer folks in with cishet folks puts the burden of
| educating those cishet folks on the shoulders of someone who is
| already struggling to find housing.
|
| Someone experiencing housing struggles because they are queer
| doesn't need the added burden of being someone's teacher. Those
| people who need to learn the lesson that humanity is what's
| important? They need to learn that without relying on
| minorities to teach them.
| soueuls wrote:
| I have no idea why you think they need to educate others.
|
| If they are looking for housing, they just should look for
| housing.
|
| I don't need any unsolicited teachings. Go on with your life,
| the sexuality, pronouns or identities of others are of no use
| to me.
| smileybarry wrote:
| "Educate" in this context means being questioned (or looked
| at) by roommates over things that are trivial to you as
| LGBTQ, then essentially having to explain why it is you do
| it or not. It can get tiring over a while.
| soueuls wrote:
| Alright, then I guess I am better living in a non LGBTQ
| friendly place.
|
| The interactions you are describing seem way too
| unnecessarily complex for my liking, I am mostly looking
| to reduce cost of living, having a few drinks from time
| to time and playing the occasional board game night.
|
| Being lectured about critical race theory or whatever,
| seems exhausting.
|
| I don't think I am that much interested about why people
| are doing the things they do. So being << educated >>
| without asking for it, seems annoying.
|
| All in all, I agree with the project of OP, it's a good
| idea that people who want to educate others can segregate
| themselves with people who are interested by being
| lectured.
| carbadtraingood wrote:
| "I'd prefer my solipsistic world where I can do things
| that are irritating or offensive to queer folks and I'm
| annoyed when people raise those concerns to me."
|
| That sure is a take, my dude.
| soueuls wrote:
| Your whole message convinces me that OP idea of a project
| is actually pretty good.
|
| I think he is creating a safe space for queer people AND
| he is indirectly creating a safe space for non queer
| people at the same time.
| carbadtraingood wrote:
| Bigot happy to not live with queer people, blames queer
| people for being intolerant. News at eleven, lol.
| soueuls wrote:
| Bigot : << one who regards or treats the members of a
| group (such as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and
| intolerance >>
|
| You are the only one here who believes you need to
| educate others and look down on them.
|
| If you find people who like to be educated and lectured
| all day just because they live, then I have no problems
| with that.
|
| But I will keep living with flat mates, not people whose
| whole lives revolve around lecturing other people.
|
| As stated before, I am glad this project exists, so we
| can both segregate and live in different places.
| carbadtraingood wrote:
| My dude, if you can't see your intolerance I'm certainly
| not going to be the one to help you. You've got some
| growing up to do.
| homonculus1 wrote:
| jjj123 wrote:
| Does this mean you're surprised there are queer people on
| hn? Or that queer people are willing to talk about "queer
| stuff" on hn?
|
| Edited for clarity
| homonculus1 wrote:
| AlecSchueler wrote:
| Couple of things to say to this.
|
| First up, this is a technical solution to problem so it
| seems to fit with what you miss on the first place. But
| secondly, in the 10+ years I've been coming to this site
| almost daily it has never been "highly focused" in the
| way you describe -- it's always been about anything that
| piques one's intellectual curiosity.
|
| But beyond that, being LGBTQIA+ is not a niche thing.
| Every workplace, classroom, and social circle I've ever
| been in has had LGBT members. Moreover it's not a "sexual
| lifestyle" it's simply a part of someone's existence.
|
| Your comment is actually bordering on homophobia and
| that's something I personally hadn't expected to see on
| HN.
| klyrs wrote:
| Not gonna reply to the dead comment, but I think it's
| worth noting that this particular posting is about a one-
| person startup. HN is centered on startup culture; this
| is _clearly_ on-topic where more generic discussions
| about whatever subculture might not be. That said, it 's
| pretty sad how much time this article spent flagged and
| how much subtle-to-blatant homo/transphobia even such a
| clearly on-topic posting picks up.
| taurath wrote:
| Physical and psychological safety is a far more primary concern
| when it comes to a living space for someone. One's home is, for
| more people, a place to relax not a place to challenge social
| dynamics.
|
| LGBT people regularly move across the country to find safer
| spaces for them to be themselves, because there isn't much in
| terms of safety or community for them where they grow up.
| pavon wrote:
| It is good for people to have experiences outside of their
| comfort zone, and to interact with others with different
| beliefs than their own. It is also important for people to have
| places and social support structures where they feel safe. A
| person's home should really be part of their safe space, not
| the stretching space.
| AlecSchueler wrote:
| This really ignores that many LGBTQIA+ people face serious
| housing discrimination as well as increased risk from certain
| kinds of aggressive behaviour.
|
| That's not to mention the benefits of having people around who
| understand the various social, familial and professional
| struggles they might face, often empathizing through first hand
| experience.
|
| I know many queer people who prefer to live in queer friendly
| houses and every city I've lived in has had ad-hoc Facebook
| groups catering to this need.
| president wrote:
| > This really ignores that many LGBTQIA+ people face serious
| housing discrimination as well as increased risk from certain
| kinds of aggressive behaviour.
|
| This is a really interesting statement. How would someone
| discriminate against someone who is LGBTQIA+ without knowing
| that they were or not? LGBTQIA+ is not something that can be
| recognized right away like skin color.
| rsynnott wrote:
| If you're _living_ with someone they're likely to figure it
| out. This is for helping people find flatmates.
|
| Even for non-flatmate scenarios, some landlords are
| remarkably nosy. Also, in many jurisdictions trans people
| may have legal docs in a name they don't use anymore... the
| list goes on.
|
| It's also reasonably common for people to be discriminated
| against because people _incorrectly think that they are
| LGBT_, incidentally.
| carbadtraingood wrote:
| "My same sex partner and I are looking for a place to
| rent". "My legal ID says James, but please use Joanna". "Oh
| this Pride t-shirt? Yeah, last year's was a blast, thanks
| for noticing!"
|
| To say nothing about things like "passing" in the trans
| community, or stereotypes about gay men and lesbian women.
| taurath wrote:
| The more recognizable you are the more discrimination you
| get, depending on the location. Often it also means finding
| roommates and optimizing for safety before anything else -
| harder to do when one is say, visibly transitioning in a
| smaller town. Christians and white nationalists tend to use
| the idea of LGBT people as examples of moral decay.
| ggwicz wrote:
| Check out examples on the HUD.gov website, and many other
| online resources and chances to educate yourself if you're
| curious: https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_e
| qual_opp/h...
|
| Laws that protect against discrimination only help to the
| extent that violators are held accountable, which in
| practice often takes a ton of time, energy, and money to
| see through. Lots of discrimination persists despite
| progress.
| bobthepanda wrote:
| You don't even really need sight to discriminate.
|
| Different minority groups get different results from phone
| call inquiries by voice, because they have distinct
| linguistic patterns not present in General American
| English. LGBT people also have their own distinct patterns,
| though not all LGBT people use them.
|
| Also, some visual markers are probably present in the gay
| population at a higher rate than the general population,
| like earrings, dyed hair, or wearing clothing not tied to
| their sex.
| showerst wrote:
| I know it's not an ideal source, but search Reddit's legal
| advice subreddit sometime. There's constant posts of people
| getting eviction notices because their conservative
| landlord saw them bring home a partner they didn't approve
| of.
| alkaloid wrote:
| I like how most of the comments insult you and tell you to
| educate yourself, rather than answering a fair question
| about immutable and immediately-recognizable
| characteristics.
| kayodelycaon wrote:
| At the time I'm writing this, there are exactly two
| comments (now three) on this thread that aren't an
| attempt to give an answer.
|
| It's best to read things in good faith. On the whole,
| people on HN do try to be helpful.
| JumpCrisscross wrote:
| > _How would someone discriminate against someone who is
| LGBTQIA+ without knowing that they were or not?_
|
| I'm assuming one doesn't want to learn their flatmate is a
| raging homophobe the first time someone of the same sex is
| brought around.
| uoaei wrote:
| I highly recommend reflecting on whether you know anything
| about the topic before remarking on it. It makes you look
| ignorant and frankly silly to state such obviously
| uninformed (and actually irrelevant here) perspectives as a
| point worth considering.
| alxjrvs wrote:
| That would be good. You know how we get to that universe?
| Having more queer people around.
|
| You know how we do that?
| jmrm wrote:
| In other webs is common to have a "gay-friendly" tag when
| advertising rooms, flats, houses, or when you are looking for
| flatmates. What does yours do differently to the other ones?
| krona wrote:
| Interesting idea, but I think the site should probably have a
| fairly prominent legal section to explain the UK Right to Rent
| scheme and how it applies to the protected characteristics
| defined in Equality Act 2010.
|
| Otherwise landlords (which is really anyone renting out a space
| they own) _could_ be putting themselves in legal jeopardy by
| using this site.
|
| More info: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-
| rent-lan...
| jedberg wrote:
| Are worried that this will be used by bigots to target LGBT+
| people by just looking up listings and getting addresses of LGBT+
| people? How are you protecting the people who post listings with
| addresses?
| imadierich wrote:
| xoa wrote:
| Yes. It's a very obvious question particularly when OP
| specifically brings up a "safe place to live" which implies
| some level of vetting. I'm surprised to not see _anything_ on
| their site as I write this about the service in the bottom or
| side nav. No "About Us", no FAQ, like who even _IS_ this
| company? Without digging further I can 't even see where this
| company is based (I'm assuming it's a registered company?).
| They should be addressing these basics in terms of "why trust
| us" I think?
|
| Actually yeah this site is genuinely weird. Like if this was a
| phishing site for LGBT, which to be clear is unlikely, but if
| it was I'd expect it to look a bit like this. Zero info at all.
| adrien248 wrote:
| All these pages will launched in the following weeks. As they
| say in YCombinator "launch it ASAP". And we did it. Now we
| are tailoring it :)
|
| Regarding the address privacy - The information is not
| provided by us. The user will receive the information by the
| listing owner, by private message.
| koreanguy wrote:
| upupandup wrote:
| In the anecdotes provided by my peers, LGBTQ friendly or LGBTQ
| only type of housing is rife for violence and bullying. You'd
| think that naturally people who are pushed to the fringes would
| be kind to each other, and it just isn't the case. There's just
| magnified amount of animosity that can quickly grow especially.
|
| So while I applaud the good intention, the actual reality is
| pretty grim, the ideal solution would be to let LGBTQ people live
| like any other people. However, we decided to label and group and
| trying to get them to create their own bubbles and I feel like
| this is not diversity but systematic exclusion.
|
| Pretty soon we will see LGBTQ ghettos and the same level of
| exploitation that comes when you concentrate people with all
| sorts of personal boundaries/expectations that are not aligned.
| The idea that LGBTQ are somehow all united and see themselves on
| a flat hierarchy is misplaced and its a recipe for disaster.
|
| It should be like in Japan, where the mainstream isn't really
| forced to adopt any particular views or forced to hire people
| from said groups but still get along respectably and more
| importantly, people simply do not put so much emphasis on
| sexuality like in Judeo-Christian societies.
|
| Lastly, LGBTQ in Japan does not wonder about getting killed by
| some flag bearing closeted and insecure, violent and poor groups.
| Kindergartens in Japan aren't having mass shooter drills or
| building bulletproof panic lockers.
|
| Neither country is better than the other, each has its own ups
| and downs but
|
| In Japan you can have gay/trans walk around and they aren't
| worried for their safety or facing violence from strangers.
|
| In West you can have gay/trans marriages and rights but they are
| walking around fearing for violence from strangers even in
| "liberal progressive" hoods.
|
| Japan is also in process of introducing gay marriages, trans
| rights, albeit slow.
| carbadtraingood wrote:
| Japan doesn't allow gay marriage, iirc?
| kayodelycaon wrote:
| Correct: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recognition_of_same-
| sex_unions...
| david_allison wrote:
| And you need to be sterilized before transitioning. Not a
| great example country to pick.
| upupandup wrote:
| And you face life or death situation violence outside
| Japan. Not exactly a good alternative either despite all
| the rights and freedom LGBTQ are supposed to enjoy.
|
| https://www.hrc.org/resources/fatal-violence-against-the-
| tra...
| robertlagrant wrote:
| Could you provide sources for any of these claims around the
| cultural differences you mention?
| BlargMcLarg wrote:
| Japan doesn't allow discrimination on many fronts from a
| business perspective, but you're romanticizing Japan. Japan is
| very much a culture of normalcy and not being 'normal' is a
| great way of getting ostracized or even bullied. Otaku culture
| is testament of that. Discrimination and lack of fitting in are
| common themes in Japanese entertainment.
|
| Gender is also very restricted. You're a man or a woman.
| upupandup wrote:
| I am well aware of ijime culture which is what you describe.
| However the fact is that LGBTQ in Japan faces a different set
| of issues as do Western counterparts.
|
| Clearly the West is a leader in LGBTQ rights but the issues
| of violence and low social trust is another large structural
| difference in both cultures.
|
| I don't think I'm romanticizing Japan rather drawing
| contrasts. LGBTQ folks already can accept levels of social
| isolation/exclusion and that is true in the West as well.
| There is more political correctness but there still exists
| risk of violence in the West at a level that is different
| from Japan.
|
| Japan typically has had LGBTQ culture traditionally and
| wasn't an issue until the arrival of Christianity. So take
| what you can from this.
| OJFord wrote:
| IANAL but this seems like a bit of a shaky/grey area - you
| couldn't make your decision _not_ to let the room on the basis of
| someone _not_ being /identifying as LGBT right? So this is kind
| of facilitating avoiding that 'problem' arising?
|
| I mean, imagine 'mystraightflatmate.com', the site to help you
| find a non-LGBT flatmate.. :/
| JumpCrisscross wrote:
| As OP said [1], this is for LGBT persons looking for an LGBT-
| friendly flatware. They make be gay, trans, straight or a
| kitten. What they (CLARIFICATION: the flatmates advertising)
| aren't is homophobic.
|
| [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32154272
| OJFord wrote:
| I understand that and I sympathise, but a similar/opposite
| case of B&B owners _not_ wanting a homosexual couple has been
| tested in UK courts: though as business owners they may
| refuse custom, they may not (under the discrimination act) do
| so _on the basis_ of (among other protected characteristics)
| homosexuality.
|
| (I'm certainly not saying OP's homophobic - I don't know
| where that came from.)
| JumpCrisscross wrote:
| Legal protection versus social comfort. I, too, would take
| issue if the site were only for LGBT landlords or tenants.
| But it's not. It's for those comfortable broadcasting their
| comfort. Given the distance between the letter of the law
| and reality when it comes to LGBT rights and safety, this
| is a practical concern for _e.g._ gay youth kicked out of
| their homes who won't be fighting anyone in court.
|
| For historical analogy, consider American hotels in the 60s
| advertising they're Black friendly. They're not only for
| Black Americans. But they're welcoming towards them in a
| way others, following the letter but perhaps not spirit of
| the law, are not.
| matthewmacleod wrote:
| No; the site _does not reject people on the basis of
| sexuality_ , but it does _advertise places which are not
| homophobic_. It 's very clearly different.
| OJFord wrote:
| Right, and in doing so _facilitates avoiding that
| 'problem'_, as I said top-level.
|
| I don't really have a problem with it _personally_ , for
| what it's worth, I find that law a bit problematic (it
| seems to preclude 'positive/affirmative action', not that
| I like that much either, for one thing: can a male
| applicant sue for being passed over in favour of a
| lesser-qualified female candidate because a firm wanted
| to improve its diversity?) I was just discussing it.
| [deleted]
| bergenty wrote:
| A little common sense is required here. Almost no one
| discriminates against straight people in any way that is
| debilitating. So it isn't really an issue (yet at least) and
| going down this path is similar to the "All lives matter" in
| response to "Black lives matter". It manifests as a way to
| passively express bigotry rather than a genuine, sincere claim.
| Elinvynia wrote:
| Thank you for doing this!
|
| Getting kicked out/disowned is an unfortunately common experience
| for the queer youth and providing them with easy to find safe
| spaces is a very kind thing to do.
| Mo3 wrote:
| Wtf? Landlords are kicking out queer people for being queer? I
| can't imagine any possible reason for them to do that.
|
| In any case, nice project
| Kye wrote:
| Queerphobia
|
| It's not a _good_ reason but it 's common enough and the
| targets aren't typically in a strong position to fight it.
| Some homeless shelters will even kick queer people out if
| they get in. Look up the controversy around the Salvation
| Army.
| adrien248 wrote:
| We appreciate your words! Sending love <3
| Vosporos wrote:
| Godspeed
| tjpnz wrote:
| Do those listing have the ability to control the size of the map
| pindrop or disable it entirely? Displaying such an accurate
| location might make some uncomfortable.
| [deleted]
| taurath wrote:
| You know that feeling you get when you read a newspaper or see
| someone report on something you know intimately, which gets the
| most basic elements of the story very wrong or worse gives out
| full falsehoods? And then you read about something you know less
| about but trust that its somehow a fair shake?
|
| This is what the HN community is like when talking about LGBT
| issues. Theoretical acceptance may have come a long way at least
| in the west, but empathy really does seem to have a long way to
| go.
|
| For your humanity, please develop a basic understanding of
| discrimination that certain groups suffer from, who tends to
| discriminate against them, and why. It will help you to
| understand more people, and enrich your life by being able to
| interact and share with people with wider ranges of experience.
| ankaAr wrote:
| So nice!!
|
| I will keep in touch with you soon using the contact form from
| the web.
| dehrmann wrote:
| Someone already called out HUD. The other thing to be _very_
| careful with is PII because what you have could be incredibly
| sensitive. I wouldn 't be so worried on the legal front, but more
| a personal front that I wouldn't sleep well at night knowing lax
| data retention and security policies could out someone.
| carbadtraingood wrote:
| Why was this flagged? What the fuck?
| hackpert wrote:
| Honestly! This is such a good initiative that it bothers me
| that this is flagged. Housing issues for queer people is one
| the biggest issues across the world. I mean the first things we
| consider before even booking a hotel across most of the world
| is "am I going to be thrown out of this?"
| carapace wrote:
| You can email hn@ycombinator.com to ask that it be unflagged.
| adrien248 wrote:
| I emailed the moderators and it's now unflagged! :D Thank you
| for your support! <3
| nathanaldensr wrote:
| Is this legal in the United States? If these listings constitute
| "housing" then you may fall afoul of HUD regulations[1] regarding
| discriminating against _anyone_ regardless of sexual orientation.
| i.e., if I am straight you may not be able to prevent me from
| using your platform to acquire housing.
|
| I'm curious to know what advice you've gotten from your lawyer on
| this.
|
| [1]
| https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/h...
|
| > _The Fair Housing Act prohibits housing and housing-related
| discrimination because of race, color, national origin, religion,
| sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), familial
| status, and disability._
| fmitchell0 wrote:
| How is a site helping LGBTQ people discriminate against
| straight people?
|
| It clearly states it is targeting people who want to live or
| post a LGTBQ+ friendly place.
| laverya wrote:
| IIRC apartment complexes advertising no pet surcharges +
| other pet accommodations have been dinged for racial
| discrimination because more white people than minorities
| owned covered pets.
|
| Disparate Impact is a bit crazy.
|
| EDIT: I was wrong, it was having a _NO_ pet policy, which
| discriminated against families with children! (And people
| with support animals, and a few other cases) https://kylandlo
| rdlaw.com/blogs/news/116214853-unintentional...
|
| Still though, I think you'd be more likely to run into the
| anti-steering provisions: https://www.nar.realtor/fair-
| housing-corner/steer-clear-of-s...
| malwarebytess wrote:
| "How does a site for helping White people, discriminate
| against non-White people?
|
| It clearly states it is targeting people who want to live or
| post in a White friendly place."
| progman32 wrote:
| "How does a site for helping Black people, discriminate
| against non-Black people?
|
| It clearly states it is targeting people who want to live
| or post in a Black friendly place."
|
| :) I think the key word is "friendly" not "exclusive".
| OJFord wrote:
| It just makes it sound like you _want_ it to be exclusive
| doesn 't it? How many black people are going to feel
| comfortable in a 'white friendly place'? It's kind of
| 'you don't belong here' in the most explicit but not
| threatening way possible.
|
| If I (white) saw 'black friendly cafe' or something, I
| don't have a problem with that to be clear, but I would
| absolutely assume that I'm not exactly welcome, that it's
| intended to serve that community - as in perhaps even
| specific to a particular country/region people are from
| (or have heritage) locally.
|
| If what you want is actually a hyper-inclusive mix, I
| don't really know what you can _actively_ do, but I do
| think you need to not mention any particular groups or
| categorise people like that.
| arroz wrote:
| The website is not discriminatory but I see what you are
| saying
|
| In a perfect world, the best thing for inclusivity is
| that nothing is said
|
| Sadly we don't live in a perfect world and many LGBT
| people don't feel safe
| ksaj wrote:
| If you find a flat that advertises as "pet friendly," does
| it discriminate against people who don't have a pet? No.
| But it does mean you probably won't like the place much if
| you don't like cats and dogs.
|
| It is not uncommon for people to advertise a room in an
| "Asian household" (for example) and that isn't
| discriminating against non-Asians. It is suggesting that
| Asian people would probably be happier there, but it isn't
| excluding anyone.
| arroz wrote:
| This is not appropriate because White people are the
| majority in the US
|
| If you did this in China (for instance), where foreigners
| are not treated all that well, it might be a welcoming
| message
|
| Although I would change the word white for foreigner
| rayiner wrote:
| The Fair Housing Act by its terms doesn't apply to rentals
| below four units, and at least one federal appellate court has
| determined it doesn't apply to roommate selection:
| https://sharinghousing.com/what-the-fair-housing-act-means-t...
|
| There's a fundamental tension between certain non-
| discrimination laws and freedom of association. The more
| intimate the association in question (with roommate selection
| being much more intimate than leasing in a large apartment
| building) the stronger the interest in freedom of association.
| BLO716 wrote:
| What's great about the Constitution and legislation of fair
| and equitable treatment of others, it has scales of economy
| always considered.
|
| It's like you can party, just don't party SO hard it
| irritates your neighbors. :)
|
| I really like the context here and thanks for sharing
| something I almost did before I saw your post.
| adrien248 wrote:
| Hi Nathanaldensr, All sexualities and genders are welcome to
| our platform, including heterosexual people. If you create a
| listing (for a room or to show interest to find a room) there
| is the option for heterosexuals :)
|
| We just provide a bridge to create a safe place for the
| community :)
| matthewmacleod wrote:
| Well, this is a UK-based site, so it doesn't seem particularly
| relevant. But the answer is 'yes'.
|
| First, the site advertises _LGBT+-friendly_ housing - it does
| not appear to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.
| Fortunately, "LGBT+-unfriendly" is not a protected class.
|
| Second, the FHA does not apply to shared living units - see
| https://www.casebriefs.com/blog/law/property/property-keyed-...
|
| IANAL or even an American for that matter.
| dragonwriter wrote:
| > if I am straight you may not be able to prevent me from using
| your platform to acquire housing.
|
| Nothing on the site suggests any restrictions on who uses it.
|
| Also, all the autocomplete suggestions seems to be in the UK.
| Pfhortune wrote:
| They aren't providing housing, merely connecting people to find
| common housing. By your logic, craigslist would have been
| crushed ages ago.
| nathanaldensr wrote:
| I didn't provide logic; I only asked a question. The legal
| system tends not to be that cut-and-dry. I don't know the
| answer as I am not a lawyer.
| dehrmann wrote:
| Craigslist gets some protections from Section 230. Meta, on
| the other hand, recently settled a suit that its ad targeting
| allows advertisers to discriminate[1] (full disclosure, I
| work for Meta, but my views are my own). Because this website
| is a tool with the _specific_ purpose of discriminatory
| housing (vs Meta 's general-purpose ad targeting), I'd be
| very careful.
|
| 1. https://www.engadget.com/meta-housing-discrimination-
| settlem...
| klyrs wrote:
| First off, much of the conversation is about the US, and
| the site appears to only support listings in the UK.
|
| > Find your next LGBT+ friendly household
|
| I don't see this as discriminatory. Likewise, if somebody
| made a site for wheelchair-accessible apartments, that
| wouldn't be discriminatory either.
| SoftTalker wrote:
| So basically, segregation is OK when it's self-selected
| and not imposed?
| bombcar wrote:
| No, he's saying that focusing on a feature of the
| _supply_ is non-discriminatory.
|
| The difference between making a site that only lists
| housing with wheelchair ramps and a site that only
| _rents_ to those with wheelchairs.
| klyrs wrote:
| she
| klyrs wrote:
| This website is specifically for flatmates that _won 't
| discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender
| identity_. If you think that's segregation, then yeah,
| that's OK.
| dehrmann wrote:
| That tagline is a good point, but it might also be said
| with a wink and the implication that you should really be
| LGBT+, yourself.
| Pfhortune wrote:
| First of all, IANAL. EDIT: Oh yeah, I guess this is UK
| only. In any case, I don't see why an equivalent US site
| would run afoul.
|
| Like craigslist, this site is entirely user-generated
| listings, and I imagine it gets the same 230 protections.
|
| > Because this website is a tool with the specific purpose
| of discriminatory housing
|
| It is not. It is a tool to connect people to be roommates
| together. No housing nor product is provided by the site at
| all. It is not a platform that targets advertising nor
| enables targeting advertising to protected groups.
| dehrmann wrote:
| Also not a lawyer, and I'll speak to the what could
| happen in the US, not the UK. I don't think a judge would
| buy your argument. The Pirate Bay has "user-generated
| listings" and doesn't offer pirated content, itself. It
| even has legitimate uses. It's still primarily for
| piracy. From Grokster[1]:
|
| > We hold that one who distributes a device with the
| object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as
| shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps
| taken to foster infringement, is liable for the resulting
| acts of infringement by third parties.
|
| I'd argue that this is essentially the same. Craigslist
| gets a pass because its housing posts are generic, so HUD
| violations are entirely on the poster.
|
| 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MGM_Studios,_Inc._v._Gro
| kster,...
| carbadtraingood wrote:
| You have a LOT more legal latitude in selecting a roommate than
| selecting a tenant. Landlords have limited ability to choose
| tenants, but you are free to choose what roommates you want.
| uoaei wrote:
| nathanaldensr wrote:
| As I replied to someone else, I am simply asking a question.
| I am not a lawyer and I don't know what constitutes "housing"
| for the purposes of HUD regulation.
| cato_the_elder wrote:
| Their comment is explicitly against HN guidelines
| (https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html):
|
| > Please don't comment on whether someone read an article.
|
| You don't need to respond to it, flagging will do.
| cobertos wrote:
| Autocomplete for flatmates seems to use UK addresses only? I
| guess this is not meant to be a US product? Didn't find anything
| in my major US city anyway
| adrien248 wrote:
| That's right. Currently we are just based in the UK :) Soon we
| will expand in other countries.
| klyrs wrote:
| Come to Canada!
| carbadtraingood wrote:
| Love it! Gay might not be the most inclusive label if you are
| aiming for LGBT folks (I'm queer but not gay), but hey, better to
| have this than not have this by a long ways!
| bergenty wrote:
| Queer buy not gay? You should clarify because I bet most of us
| don't know what that means.
| Kye wrote:
| My guess is gay is less likely to get it nailed by filters.
| carbadtraingood wrote:
| Possibly. It's not uncommon for folks to use gay to mean
| queer/LGBTQ and unintentionally exclude folks. It's a
| holdover from earlier gay rights and gay liberation
| movements. The history there is complicated.
|
| You also see folks specifically omit the T these days (LBG)
| to specifically include trans folks.
|
| To be clear, the OP sounds like they are a good person and
| I'm not accusing them of anything negative! Just noting that
| some folks might interpret the URL differently than intended.
| alisonatwork wrote:
| Personally I am not the "G" in LGBTQ+ but I prefer to be
| described as gay than queer, because in many parts of the
| world where I lived or visited, queer is still a slur and
| carries a lot of emotional baggage with it. I don't think
| it's problematic for a modern website to choose to use gay
| as the catch-all. Really how people choose to be referred
| to is just a matter of personal preference, it's not nearly
| as important as actions or intent. If the site is legit,
| people will appreciate it all the same.
| carbadtraingood wrote:
| Yep. Language is hard. Queer is absolutely a reclaimed
| slur, and comes with all that baggage, making it either
| political, fine, or too heavy depending on where you
| live.
|
| In general, I don't mind queer folks calling me queer,
| but I really bristle when I hear cishet folks use it.
| adrien248 wrote:
| Thank you for your feedback! :)
|
| We spent several days thinking in a better name. We decided to
| keep this one, but we know at some point we will need to change
| it. This was more of a SEO strategy; to be more readable; and
| to stay easily in the mind.
|
| For example: If it was "mylgbtqflatmate" would be so difficult
| to understand.
|
| We understand that not everyone identifies as "gay" and we
| don't want to focus only in that segment.
|
| Do you have any suggestion you would like to give? We would
| love to listen new ideas!! :D
| DiocletianCoast wrote:
| chroem- wrote:
| carbadtraingood wrote:
| LGBT housing is safe for LGBT folks, particularly because it is
| either shared by or run by queer folks who are much less likely
| to discriminate or do violence against you because you are
| queer.
|
| Regular housing offers no such guarantees. Maybe it's fine,
| maybe it's dangerous.
| koreanguy wrote:
| 3qz wrote:
| There's no way to run a service like this without it turning into
| a hookup site. I would never trust a room here. Too many
| predators.
| matthewmacleod wrote:
| Honestly this comes across as a "gays are sex-obsessed
| predators" argument and it seems kind of silly, even if that
| wasn't your intention.
|
| There are already loads of outlets which are focused explicitly
| on hookups. I struggle to see a reason that this pretty
| innocent "flatshares for people who don't want to be gay-
| bashed" site would become one.
| cp9 wrote:
| in the same vein as craigslist will this site likely be used
| for sex work? probably
|
| does that matter? not to me. sex work is work and sex workers
| usually make it clear as to what their listing is about
| (otherwise they won't get work).
| BlargMcLarg wrote:
| It's obviously not about sex work, but about preying on the
| vulnerable. Your opinion aside, quite a few countries and
| cultures look down on predators and trading sex for a place
| to live.
| imadierich wrote:
| adrien248 wrote:
| Hi there :) Thank you for your feedback! :)
|
| I'm not sure where are you from. But in London we have the
| "Flatshare" culture. Sometimes people move to a room without
| having a clue of who will be their flatmates (and it happen to
| me in my first home)...
|
| We recomemend our users to meet their flatmates before having a
| tenancy. But this should be applied for anyone, not exclusively
| LGBT+ people. :)
|
| Regarding "hookup site", we believe there's other apps better
| developed for that purpose. But actually, on Grindr (most used
| gay dating app) you can find enumerous profiles saying "Looking
| for room" or "Room available".
| nathanaldensr wrote:
| Honestly, the logo including a running shower gives that
| impression.
| uoaei wrote:
| This is an interesting point. The system would likely require
| some kind of reputation score like ratings on other rental
| sites.
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