What is Chinchilla Chat?
This app's purpose is to form connections anonymously between members of the LGBTQ+ community at Augustana College. Users of this app can begin to develop friendships, romantic relationships, and/or receive or give advice.
Why are users anonymous?
There are many LGBTQ+ individuals who are not "out" yet. Being "out" means that that person has revealed to either certain people or to everyone their sexual orientation or gender identity. Remaining anonymous allows users discussing their identities to avoid being outed by chat partners who may either purposefully or accidentally out other users.
How will it work?
Users would sign up with their assigned Augustana email to verify that they are a student and to limit them to only one account (unless they have changed their name and have access to another email through the college). Then, once the user has verified their email and has logged in, they can find a chat partner and begin having a conversation. Unless the user wants to reveal their identity, each user is anonymous according to other users they interact with.
What are the risks?
Any Augustana College student with access to their Augustana email can sign up for this app. While this requirement allows any student to seek advice and form bonds on the app, it also allows individuals with Augustana emails to abuse the anonymity that comes with the app. However, users can flag others, sending the reported user's information and some evidence behind the report to admins of the app. If the user has been wrongly flagged (determined using evidence from the reporter's reasoning and possibly a section of the chat session), their access to the app can be restored. If the report is justified, their email will be suspended from using the app entirely. On the other hand, if a user wants to block another user from communicating with them further, they will not be required to flag them if they do not find it necessary to do so.
What's the point?
Many LGBTQ+ students attend Augustana College. There are also many prospective Augustana students who identify as something other than cisgender and/or heterosexual. These students may find it more difficult to fit in and find a group of friends who accept their identities. There are also students who may seek advice regarding LGBTQ+ issues and/or experiences that they cannot find anywhere else. Students will be able to share their experiences regarding a variety of topics--dating, transitioning, family, coming out--and hopefully these conversations will resonate with others, making them feel safer, more accepted, and less alone at Augustana College.
Chinchilla Chat hopes to impress prospective Augustana College students as well as to help current students form friendly relationships with students they may not have met otherwise.
Vecna (they/them) is a math and computer science double major. They aren't super active in GSA, but they do attend meetings about half of the time. As a privacy enthusiast, Vecna loves the idea of being able to hide their identity, and as a nonbinary/queer person, they know how hard it can be to find other students like them. They hope to add a lot of privacy features to Chinchilla Chat.
