Rural research findings have primarily addressed infrastructure and distance/geographic isolation as unique rural characteristics, while qualitative, observational, and cross-sectional methods dominate this research. HCI researchers rarely define rurality, and when they do, they primarily define it using descriptive rather than sociocultural or symbolic definitions.
We present results of a scoping review of HCI literature that asks: 1) How do HCI researchers define rurality? 2) How do the unique characteristics of rural communities enter into study findings? 3) What methods are used in rural research? and 4) Where has rural research been conducted? More than twice as many rural HCI articles have been conducted in low-income and/or developing countries than in high-income and/or developed countries. We draw from research outside of HCI to suggest how we can effectively engage with rurality in research. This paper interrogates how rurality has been treated in previous HCI research conducted in developed and high-income countries. HCI researchers are increasingly conducting research in rural communities. Based on lessons learned, we generate insights that can inform the design of safe support spaces online. These online communities embody "selective visibility"-that is, though not specifically designed as support structures for identity work and recovery, their design allows people to selectively find and create communities of support for stigmatized issues that they might be unable to safely seek out in other spaces. Through an interview study with 31 LGBTQ fanfiction authors, our findings mirror Herman's model of trauma recovery: these spaces self-organize to support recovery work through constructing "community narratives" that help LGBTQ people establish safety when exploring their identity and build LGBTQ support structures without publicly outing themselves before they are ready, challenge stereotypes, and support others through reshaping existing media that perpetuate inaccurate or harmful LGBTQ narratives. As an online community focused on writing fanfiction and also consisting of a large number of LGBTQ members, transformative fandom provides an opportunity to examine the relationship between support, crisis, and narrative. Research shows that social support and personal narrative construction are important when recovering from personal crises and traumatic events. Online communities provide support for those who are vulnerable, such as LGBTQ people while coming out.