Grindr — yes, Grindr — won the WHCD party circuit

Hello and welcome to Regulator , a newsletter for Verge subscribers about technology, politics, and technology learning how to politick. If you’re not a subscriber but would like to support our work, please subscribe here . I promise that your money will not go toward paying for a drone-proof ballroom for The Verge staff, no matter how much fun we’d have throwing parties there. Speaking of parties: The Verge normally wouldn’t do a party report from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner week, also known as “Nerd Prom,” because it’s a bit too much Washington insider circle-jerking for normal people to stomach. (This year was weirder than most, considering that the dinner was targeted by an attempted shooter, it was immediately canceled, and the media insiders kept partying anyway .) But I will make an exception for the party thrown by Grindr — “a midsize tech company that happens to be gay,” as Joe Hack , Grindr’s head of global government affairs — which took place the night before the dinner and can therefore stand on its own. And really, there’s a lot to unpack with this event: In an era of resurgent LGBTQ panic, why did a gay dating app with a reputation for facilitating hookups decide to throw a house party for those Washington insiders? Why did they do it this year, during peak Washington insider social season? And why did they let the media cover it? Before we answer that question, as always, send any tips, notices, etc. to tina.nguyen+tips@theverge.com . …