Tried a bunch of things on my own first but kept hitting dead ends.
Safety and privacy are also big concerns for me. I don't want to hand over personal info to some sketchy platform and regret it later.
I've noticed a big difference between platforms that moderate actively and those that don't. The ones that don't tend to become unusable within a few months.
Feel free to share whatever has worked for you, even if it's not the obvious answer.