(no subject)

[furrbear]

Apparently Manhunt.com has taken it "up the butt" financially by the swift and angry departure of customers and closing of accounts.

Folks who have asked to have their Manhunt accounts closed have received the following response from Manhunt

Dear Member,

Thank you for contacting MANHUNT Customer Service.

Thank you for taking the time to express your concerns as we are always
happy to hear from our members.

Manhunt as a company has not and does not support any political
candidate in this or any previous election.

A statement from the founder and majority shareholder of MANHUNT
follows.

Sincerely,
Ryan
Manhunt Customer Service


STATEMENT FROM LARRY BASILE, FOUNDER AND MAJOR SHAREHOLDER OF MANHUNT

There has been a depiction this week of MANHUNT being Republican.

All my life, I have never voted to the right, and have always been
generous to 20th Century Democrats, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and
Defenders, HRC, and the NGLTF.

I was arrested at the Supreme Court and FDA in Act-Up actions, and was
the founder of the Grass Roots Gay Rights Fund, which over the years has
raised more than $800K.

I was the Treasurer of Out Week magazine, which was a powerful force in
its time.

I began giving Obama donations in March 2007, and I have sent several
checks that have yet to be reported. The hat and t-shirt I wear say
"Obama for President", as does the sign in front of my house. I refuse
to live in a country that is so marred by war and hate. To me, Barack
is by far the best candidate, probably better than we deserve.

It should be known that Jonathan Crutchley's donation to McCain left the
entire Board in disbelief.

I am disappointed that we have lost some customers, and I understand the
anger. It is too bad for the web site if we lose customers, but PLEASE
never refer to me as a Republican. I consider it an offense.

At the request of the Board, Jonathan has stepped down as Chairman.

Sincerely,
Larry Basile

Update story in BayWindows

For me this is a good news/bad news letter.

It's good news because it clears up the extreme cognitive dissonance of trying to associate Larry Basile with McLame and the Republicans.

It's bad news in that Jonathan Crutchley, although asked to step down as Chairman, is still profitting from the site and will probably continue to use those profits against the GLBT community. It's his right to support whomever he wishes. We as a community don't necessarily have to make it easier for him.

After such a "career limiting move" as Crutchley's response to the inquiries that started this, I think he got a light sentence only being asked to step down and not resign from the board. Mortals such as you or I would have been met by HR and shown the door. Yeah, he's a co-founder and majority shareholder, but after doing such damage to the corporate brand, it's amazing he's not completely ousted from the company.

Comments

[furr-a-bruin.livejournal.com]

One thing to keep in mind - just browsing the site adds to their hit counts, which increases their revenue from the ads they display. I have no idea what proportion of their income is from that, versus membership fees, but it's something to consider.

[sultmhoor.livejournal.com]

It's probably the majority of it.

[hereticsoul.livejournal.com]

You're very likely right about that. But even so, what I keep thinking about is whether or not the entire enterprise, including the co-founder who has said he is an avid Obama supporter (like me) deserves to be simultaneously punished because of the donation of one man in his company. After all, in terms of this presidential cycle, the damage has already been done. Crutchley has donated the maximum amount to McKook that the law allows. Granted, he can still funnel considerable sums to the RNC.

I don't log onto the system very often. And because I'm not a paying member, there are so many constraints on what I'm able to do, I usually don't stay on there very long.

So I'm weighing a more measured response that I hope might incent Manhunt to further sever their ties with Crutchley while not unnecessarily punishing Larry Basile and others of like mind at Manhunt.

I just think it's counterproductive to burn the bridge entirely since there's not much more you can do after that. There's always that option later.