I think it would be cool if AOTY had a private messaging system (that would work like shouts but invisible to other users) in addition to shouts, so that users could communicate about things that they may not want to be public without having to exchange information on external platforms.
Also, I think it would be helpful if there was a place specifically to input pronouns and/or preferred name on the user page. Sometimes, I feel anxious about misgendering those who don’t have their pronouns in their bio or being confused about what to call them, and I think that a place for people to specify that would be helpful!