Manhunt.net
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Manhunt.net is a website operated by “Online Buddies, Inc.” that facilitates same-sex male online dating and casual sex. The site has over 1.2 million profiles worldwide, 850,000 of which are active. It is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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[edit] History
The official launch date of the Manhunt venture was April Fools day 2002. Originally a Boston-area phone sex line, the company now serves all of North America, the European Union, Australia, Japan, and Brazil with websites in five different languages. An independent tracking agency currently (Dec. 2006) ranks Manhunt as the largest GLBT-targeted site online, surpassing long-time leader Gay.com.[1]
[edit] Characteristics
Although some profiles are of a non-sexual nature and explicitly state that they are not cruising for sex, the preponderance of profiles are either overtly sexual or at least express an open-mindedness towards the possibility of sex through phrases such as “...up for whatever” or “...let's see what happens.”
Many profiles on the site are sexually explicit and include nude photographs and graphic language. However, certain terms of disparagement are automatically censored by the software. References to illegal drug use (such as “PNP”) are also disallowed as are all phrases that might be construed as being related to prostitution such as “I am generous” or “I am looking for generous...”.
[edit] Health
Manhunt.net partners with 130 community health organizations nationwide, including the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Each has a screen name, and their ads appear on the site alongside members' personal postings. Sixteen of these are partner notification profiles serving as anonymous intermediaries that allow members to inform each another when they may have come in contact with an STD. One advocate at a center run by the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts is quoted in the Boston Herald as saying "In comparison to lots of other sites, it's light-years ahead."[2]
Nevertheless, Manhunt does not prohibit members from advertising a preference for unsafe sex practices through phrases such as “bareback only.” Manhunt's general manager told New York Magazine:
It all boils down to personal choice. We believe that people have the right to PNP or not to PNP, to use condoms or not use condoms. What we hope is that people will back up their choices with responsible behavior. We provided an empty site and our customers have filled it. But the majority of them don’t PNP or bareback [...] what we hope is that people will back up their choices with responsible behavior.[3]
[edit] Privacy
The number of Manhunt members who chose to show their face in their profiles and those that chose not to do so are approximately equal in number.
In one case, a Richmond, Virginia school board chairman's Manhunt profile was discovered by a Richmond Times-Dispatch reporter. This lead to the chairman’s resignation and his expression that "I displayed an inappropriate lack of judgment." Accounts of the incident seem to indicate that the chairman's resignation was a result of a perceived breech of decorum rather than a violation of any law or ethnical standard.[4]
[edit] Victimization
The commander of the DC Police Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit said "We've definitely seen an increase in online dating crimes in the past five years" and added that victims of internet dating crimes are "overwhelmingly men cruising for sex" He also noted that these criminals are often technologically savvy and create profiles using fake information and other people's photos from cyber cafés or public libraries, making them difficult to trace.[5]
In an extreme case from 2006, Philadelphia police arrested a man who had used Manhunt and similar sites to rob as many as twenty men in Florida, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, DC. One victim, who stated he may be been incapacitated by "date rape" drug GHB, had his credit cards, passport, checks and Audi convertible stolen by this felon.[5]
Manhunt's general manager said the company is limited in how it can respond to incidents because of liability and privacy issues and explained "We get phone calls from all types of people making all kinds of claims...We could be put in a liable position if someone's accusations are not substantiated." [5]
Manhunt does delete the profile of a suspected criminal once the company receives a subpoena from the police, but this can't prevent a criminal from creating a new identity and profile.[5]
[edit] See also
- Adam4Adam
- Craig's List
- Online dating
- GayDar
- Hardjocks Network
- Gay Dating Network
- Gay.com
- PlanetOut
- GayFriendFinder
