Apologies if this is the wrong forum to ask, or if it's inappropriate to ask it anywhere on Gay Guides.

What happened to Men4Men (that specialized in the USA)?

AI Overview

 

 

Men4Men, best known in the US as a pioneering directory and chat community for gay and bisexual men, was significantly restructured and transitioned away from its original commercial dating/cruising format. [1]

Its original online personals and directory domains were acquired in 2021 by VS Media and officially donated to the Los Angeles LGBT Center. [1]

Here is what happened to the platform and the broader M4M online space:

• Site Transition: The Center repurposed the Men4Men domain and its digital properties into an educational and community health resource for gay, bi, and other men who have sex with men (MSM). [1, 2, 3]

• Focus on Health and Well-Being: Today, resources under the Men4Men banner emphasize sexual health education, HIV prevention, and specialized clinical support groups. [1]

• The Death of Craigslist Personals: The closure of classic classified hubs like Men4Men also coincides with the shutdown of Craigslist Personals in the US. The platform's operators cited the passage of the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) in 2018 as the primary reason for permanently closing all casual encounter and personals boards to avoid legal liability. [1, 2]

• Where Users Go Today: With dedicated web-based personals gone, users seeking localized M4M connections in Los Angeles and the rest of the US have migrated to app-based platforms like Grindr, Scruff, or alternative classified-style sites like Doublelist, as noted by community consensus on Quora. [1]

2 hours ago, unicorn said:

AI Overview

 

 

 

Men4Men, best known in the US as a pioneering directory and chat community for gay and bisexual men, was significantly restructured and transitioned away from its original commercial dating/cruising format. [1]

Its original online personals and directory domains were acquired in 2021 by VS Media and officially donated to the Los Angeles LGBT Center. [1]

Here is what happened to the platform and the broader M4M online space:

• Site Transition: The Center repurposed the Men4Men domain and its digital properties into an educational and community health resource for gay, bi, and other men who have sex with men (MSM). [1, 2, 3]

• Focus on Health and Well-Being: Today, resources under the Men4Men banner emphasize sexual health education, HIV prevention, and specialized clinical support groups. [1]

• The Death of Craigslist Personals: The closure of classic classified hubs like Men4Men also coincides with the shutdown of Craigslist Personals in the US. The platform's operators cited the passage of the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) in 2018 as the primary reason for permanently closing all casual encounter and personals boards to avoid legal liability. [1, 2]

• Where Users Go Today: With dedicated web-based personals gone, users seeking localized M4M connections in Los Angeles and the rest of the US have migrated to app-based platforms like Grindr, Scruff, or alternative classified-style sites like Doublelist, as noted by community consensus on Quora. [1]

 

Is this an AI response?

2 hours ago, Mavica said:

Is this an AI response?

Simple enough to copy and paste the question to AI. It clearly also says "AI Overview" at the top to my post. The intention is to show the OP how easy it is to get answers to factual questions these days. Now, questions of opinions, suggestions, habits, and so on, are a different matter. 

8 hours ago, unicorn said:

Simple enough to copy and paste the question to AI. It clearly also says "AI Overview" at the top to my post. 

Thank you for gracefully pointing out my faulty reading comprehension. 🙂

Thnk u Unicorn for going into all this trouble for me.

Asking AI didn't cross my mind. However, I don't trust any of his factual answers bcs they r so many times incorrect in the most basic factual manner.

In this case I m not sure about the answer, also bcs he goes back to 2021, whereas I still perused the website a few months ago.

Since the various forums there had the same communal atmosphere as here, it seems VERY strange that no one announced "sorry guys, we're going off line"...

3 hours ago, 12is12 said:

...Asking AI didn't cross my mind. However, I don't trust any of his factual answers bcs they r so many times incorrect in the most basic factual manner...

Well, they're a place to start. Like Wikipedia, as secondary sources, they can be wrong. AI inquiries usually provide the references from which they obtain their answers, so you can always click on those links if in doubt, in order to assess the strength of the evidence. One thing that AI doesn't do, you're correct, is to disclose the strength of the evidence it provides. Although definitely not correct 100% of the time, AI is a good place to start a search for information.