Dead and Gone: Queerty

Today it was announced that Queerty is no longer with us, and indeed if you go to www.queerty.com you get a whole lotta nada. The site, which our new Gay Placer Daniel Villareal worked for (sad), was known for it's snarky commentary, luscious lists, and mostly male-oriented content.

The founder of Queerty, David Hauslaib sent the following email to supporters and staffers today:

Hello friends,

Some five and a half years ago I launched my second blog, Queerty, after seeing an opening for a new type of LGBT site. It joined Jossip, and would soon be followed by two sister sites. That journey has come to an end: Queerty is closing.

Along the way, Queerty has grown to reach an audience of a million visitors each month, driving the international news cycle and fostering conversations among and about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. I'm very proud of the work Queerty accomplished, covering news and entertainment, music and culture, politics, celebrity, career, sports, and sex. Most of all, it is Queerty's readers and contributors who have been the site's biggest asset, fostering an online community that agreed with each other as often as not. Reading the conversations among readers, and the email sent in, was always a delicious perk.

As many of you know, last year Queerty partnered with the folks at 353Media to handle its operations. I transitioned out of my original role to make time to tackle some unrelated projects, and a trusted crew took the reins. Sadly last week, in a scenario that began with some technical headaches, has ended with 353 opting not to continue operating the site. It is a decision I was saddened to hear, and I worked to find an amenable solution that would keep Queerty online. That effort was unsuccessful.

I have watched web properties that I launched come to an [sic] close before, but Queerty's end is certainly one of the hardest to see.

I apologize for the mass email, but there are a number of people I wanted to hear the news from me before the release of a formal statement.

Seems a little strange to us – because the operator of the site chose to back out all of Queerty is now bust? Perhaps there's some legal mumbo-jumbo in there somewhere that has not yet come to light? Or David Hauslaib was tired/burnt out/queer wasted?

It happens.

Regardless, a queer site taken out for the count is not a happy moment for anyone. For our part, we'll be casting a rainbow cake-sugar circle and hailing the guardians of the watchtowers of the Queerest tonight.

…So basically watching The Craft and drinking wine coolers. Sigh.