Online LGBTQ+ communities face a persistent tension: remaining visible to welcome newcomers while protecting members from harassment. This challenge is particularly acute for lesbian communities on Reddit, which operate not as isolated groups but as an interconnected ecosystem. We examine how this tension is negotiated across the lesbian subreddit ecosystem (N=29) by combining network analysis of cross-subreddit links with a qualitative thematic analysis of 167 subreddit rules. Our findings show a functional division of governance labor between central (34%) and peripheral subreddits (66%). While all communities share a baseline of safety regulations, central subreddits prioritize content curation and feed quality to support a large, public-facing audience, whereas peripheral subreddits emphasize boundary maintenance and participation control to protect smaller, identity-specific niches. These findings challenge monolithic moderation approaches and highlight the need for ecosystem-aware design. We argue that effective moderation requires role- and context-sensitive tools supporting visibility and safety across interconnected spaces.

翻译：在线LGBTQ+社群始终面临一种张力：既要保持可见性以吸引新成员，又要保护成员免受骚扰。这一挑战在Reddit的女同性恋社群中尤为突出，这些社群并非孤立运作，而是构成相互关联的生态系统。本研究通过结合跨子版块链接的网络分析（N=29）与167个子版块规则的定性主题分析，探讨了女同性恋子版块生态系统如何协调这种张力。研究发现治理功能在中心子版块（34%）与边缘子版块（66%）之间存在分工。尽管所有社群都具备基本的安全规范，但中心子版块侧重于内容策展与信息流质量，以服务规模庞大、面向公众的受众；而边缘子版块则强调边界维护与参与控制，以保护规模较小、身份特定的细分群体。这些发现挑战了单一化的内容审核模式，凸显了需要具备生态系统意识的设计。我们认为，有效的审核机制需要配备角色敏感且情境适应的工具，以在相互关联的网络空间中同时支持可见性与安全性。