Gumtree have pulled the plug on dating and are removing all Gumtree dating sections from the site. Although some categories such as “Friends” and “Penpals” were fairly innocent, others such as “Casual Relationships” and “Desperately Seeking” were pretty much used exclusively by knocking shops.
I do know a couple of people (who Will remain nameless) who used Gumtree “Dating” for “Dating”, but a casual browse of the listings in those sections isn’t something I’d have recommended for my mother or the local vicar.
Officially the last date for posting ads was 23rd December 2009 and the entire dating section of the site will be closed today (5th January 2010). Doubtless this is going to cost Gumtree a fair amount of cash and traffic. The Gumtree dating forum set up to discuss the closure is already full of threads offering alternatives and lamenting the end of dating on Gumtree.
So what do you think? Is it good to clean up the less salubrious ads (which were always worth reading for a laugh) or just sad for the genuine users? Is it good for Gumtree in the long term or should they have kept a section for adults wishing to meet adults?
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