Online platforms have become a key avenue for forming new relationships, especially for queer individuals. However, some individuals, such as those in asexual and aromantic communities (A-Spec), seek forms of relationships that trouble existing frameworks assumed by online platforms, such as dating apps. To investigate A-Spec needs, we conducted an 8-week ARC study with 38 A-Spec participants who have used online platforms for developing relationships. Participants described a mismatch between the design of dating apps and their approach to building relationships, suggesting platform design that combines affordances of dating apps and other social platforms. We thus outline a ``process-oriented'' paradigm for relationship-building platforms inspired by community design suggestions, supporting participants' process of first establishing a low-stakes relationship and then co-constructing its properties. We also argue for a ``pluralized'' approach to defining identity and relationship in the design of online systems, upsetting default assumptions surrounding any given label.
ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems