Skittlr is a LGBT and MOGAI-only social network, built for our unique identities and designed to be safe and supportive of the experiences our community goes through. The funds we raise go towards keeping us online and benefitting our community.
Please visit us at skittlr.net! You can also follow us on our Tumblr, Facebook or Twitter to get updates and to ask us questions.
When we started, we had a small goal of about $100 to cover domain costs, a premium template and theme, and various FundRazr and Paypal fees. We have FAR surpassed our expectations! We currently have a user count in the thousands and a positive, wonderful community of like-minded individuals. Skittlr has some exciting plans in the works for community engagment, including a fully integrated instant messaging system, community boards, outreach efforts and more!
Frequantly Asked Questions
Q: If I am cisgender, heterosexual, heteroromantic, and dyadic but am an ally, can I still join?
A: No. While we love support from allies, Skittlr was developed to be a safe space where MOGAI/LGBTQIA+ people can share their experiences. We always accept support, be it in form of donation to help keep Skittlr running, or signal boosting, but allies will not be permitted to join the site. Read our Information for Allies to learn more. We hope you understand!
Q: Why did you choose the name Skittlr?
A: Skittlr is based off the popular candy Skittles. Skittles has the slogan: “Taste the Rainbow!” which can be seen as a nod to the MOGAI/LGBTQIA+ community and our well known rainbow pride flag. However, it’s subtle enough that it doesn’t seem overtly like an LGBT/MOGAI website, which offers some safety for users.
Q: Do you have [insert orientation or gender here]?
A: Chances are we do, but if we don’t you can always email us at skittlrnet+sug@gmail.com to get it added!
Q: Can I become a [insert staff position here]?
A: We are not taking any staff members at the moment, but if you believe you can offer a specialized skill to us, drop us an email at skittlrnet@gmail.com.
Q: If I’m hetero/cis/dyadic but [insert MOGAI sexuality/gender here] can I still join?
A: Absolutely! We accept anyone on the MOGAI spectrum, even questioning individuals!
Q: Will there be a mobile app?
A: At the moment, we don’t have the proper resources to code a mobile app, and we don’t want to spend the money to post one on the iOS App Store or Google Play. Despite that, it’s definitely a possibility for the future! Meanwhile, the site can be used in any mobile browser. (Moreover, if you have app coding abilities and would be interested in helping out, contact us at skittlrnet@gmail.com.)
Q: Will dating be allowed?
A: Skittlr is not a dating site, however, in the same way that Tumblr and Facebook are not dating sites, relationships can form between members on any social network, and we will respect those relationships, so long as everyone in the relationship is safe (and no one is being put at any risk because of it).
Q: What is minimum/maximum age?
A: Due to U.S. COPPA Laws, the minimum age legally has to be 13. In the future, we may allow people 12 and under to join, but we’d need to set up a way to get parental permission.
Q: What security measures are in place that I have access to?
A: Users can block any person they feel is a threat to them or anyone else, and there is a report button on all user-created content. When a user is blocked, they cannot see anything you post, and you cannot see anything they post. You can also choose to hide your information with varying levels of privacy, which are applicable to all content you post with the sole exception of your username, display name, and profile picture. In addition, you are under no obligation to provide your real name/other details, so you can choose to provide as much or as little information about yourself as you are comfortable with.
Q: Can there be a group for _______?
A: Short answer, yes! Groups are pretty open. You can form a group for whatever you like. Interests, orientations, identities, etc. You can also choose to make a group public, closed, or private. In a public group, anyone can join and everyone can see group content. So, if you wanted to create a group for, as an example, Trans Girls In High School, you could choose to make that a public group, so any high school trans girls would be able to join and talk, or at least read through. If you decided to make a group for People with Unaccepting Parents, for example, you could choose to make it a private group (meaning that members would need to be approved before they could join, and only members can see the group’s content), so that people would be able to speak freely without the risk of other people chiming in. If you wanted to create a group for your school’s GSA or something along those lines, a secret group might be your best bet (so that the group doesn’t show up in searches, and members have to be invited.) Groups have lots of potential, so you can find (or make) a group to fit whatever your needs or interests are!
Q: Will we have to use our real names, like at Facebook? What about profile pictures?
A: Only if you want to! Everyone will be asked to give a username (which will be permanent, so choose wisely!) This username can have your name in it or it can be whatever you want to use, as long as it isn’t offensive. Then there will be a separate “name” field which you can change whenever you want, so you can put first name, first and last name, or something else altogether!
As for profile pictures, they can be any image you want — again, as long as they aren’t offensive. Just keep in mind that all registered users will be able to see your username, display name, and profile picture.
Q: Will joining Skittlr cost money?
A: Nope! At no point will any of Skittlr’s features be behind a paywall. In the future, we might have to bring in ads to keep the site running or we might have “subscriber/donator” accounts for those that contribute, but nothing that will take features away from registered members.
Q: Do you know how issues with harassment are going to be handled?
A: Our aim is to provide a safe online space that MOGAI/LGBTQIA+ people can enjoy without the fear of queerphobia, transphobia, bullying, or any other type of torment. That’s why Skittlr has a zero-tolerance policy for harassment.
All user-created content is reportable with just the click of a button— and there’s no confusing survey to fill out about why you’re reporting it, either, since we know not all offenses are easily categorized. When something is reported, it is brought to the moderating team’s attention, where they will personally deal with the issue. Depending on the case, an admin may be brought in to resolve the problem as well.
If an offense is severe enough, such as graphic or triggering images or text, it can merit immediate deletion by a staff member for the protection of minors and sensitive individuals. This power is not taken lightly and will not be used to censor the community, but we won’t hesitate to make use of it if the community is being put in harm’s way (for example, a troll posting graphic gore or explicit pornography in public spaces.) After the deletion, the user responsible will be contacted and investigated further. Additionally, sexual harassment and cyberbullying of any kind are taken very seriously by the staff team, and are grounds for permanent banning.
There are also several measures in place that users can use to protect themselves, including customizable privacy settings on all of your content (except your username, display name, and profile picture,) as well as a very solid user blocking function, which effectively prevents you and the blocked user from having any sort of interaction on the site.
Fortunately, we have a really strong team of staff members dedicated to keeping Skittlr a positive space, and as always, we encourage you to reach out to us for anything you might need.
Q: What is the policy going to be regarding rule breakers?
A: There will be two levels of staff members - administrators and moderators. Moderators will not be able to ban or delete people, but they will be able to handle ‘ground-level’ things (deleting individual comments, mediating discussions, editing problematic groups, etc) while administrators will be handling top-level things— banning, suspensions, anything super permanent.
Part of the policy as a staff member will be no one will be allowed to make a decision— multiple people will have to agree on it.
Fabrication of problems, reporting for personal grudges, etc, will be considered a mark against the person who abuses the system— not the person who got reported.
We won’t be banning people over small things - misspoken pronouns, incorrect information, small arguments over opinions, etc. Those are all things we need to accept will happen, and should be handled maturely, so people can learn. It will be more the mentality of weeding out the toxic— if you mess up but handle it maturely and fix the issue, you’ll most likely be fine. It’s when people are purposely stepping on other people’s toes that will not be tolerated.
There’s no hard and fast room on what’s going to result in a ban— but that being said, we are definitely not going to let it come to personal opinion.
The community comes first— if it’s bad for everyone, then it’s going. Something that just personally gets to you is not going to affect everyone. Not everyone likes everyone and that is okay, but we do want to hold our members to a certain standard of behavior.
Q: If someone joins as questioning, but later figures out that they are (dyadic), cis & het, will they be allowed to stay on Skittlr, or do they have to leave?
A: In our experience, this really doesn’t tend to happen, If someone is questioning, they usually end up being LGBTQ/MOGAI in some way, shape, or form. In general, dyadic cishet people really don’t spend a lot of time questioning their identity, due to things like heteronormativity. But, if this DOES happen, we are going to have to count on them to do the right thing, and leave the site. After all, there won’t be much there for them after all if they’re dyadic and cishet, right? It’s a site for LGBTQ/MOGAI people - we imagine it would be pretty boring for someone who is dyadic, straight, and cis. Because at that point, this isn’t their community.
In a worse case scenario, if a dyadic person comes to the conclusion that they are a) totally straight and b) totally cis, but they refuse to leave the site, we will have to remove them from the site. But, that being said, again, this isn’t a situation we foresee happening very often!
