VampireFreaks.com is a gothic-industrial subculture social networking website similar to Myspace and Facebook. But it seems to target punks, goths, and freaks. The site is created and founded by Jet in 1999. Programming / Design was done by Jet, also.
Signing up on the site allows you to create a profile, upload pictures, add friends, message people, write journal entries, comment on profiles, join groups called “cults”, add musicians, rate profiles, like images and participate in forums. Using the site is free and it also has a paid premium option that you can upgrade to for additional features. The site has been around for 20 years, but it was announced recently that it will be shut down on Feb 1, 2020.
VampireFreaks also has its own clothing store that will still be up after the site gets deleted. They also run a convention, Dark Side Of The Con. In the site’s about section, it was written, “With over 16 years of experience throwing events such as Cybertron and Triton Festival, they have booked high-profile bands from across the globe and are a top player in the underground scene.”
Here is the actual update from the website:
RIP VF Social Network [Featured Site Content]
I’ve been running VampireFreaks for 20 years now and it’s been a great experience.
So many ups and downs, and the website has brought so many people together. It’s been a lot of work, but hearing stories about people finding their spouses / loved ones on VF has always made it worthwhile.
VampireFreaks has always been a labor of love. Recently, running the VF social network just hasn’t been enjoyable for me anymore.
I’ve always taken pride in being part of a community of weirdos and freaks that can relate to each other and be supportive of each other. To be honest, it’s just lost its magic to me. The internet isn’t the same place it was 15-20 years ago and I’m not the same person I was either. I’d like to have our website be remembered as being a great inclusive community. I just don’t want to live my life online anymore, I like having my privacy.
So I’ve decided to take down the VampireFreaks social network starting on February 1st 2020. This gives everyone over 6 months notice. If you have a premium member subscription, I recommend cancelling before this date, but we will be cancelling any subscriptions once the site is taken down. Effective immediately we are not allowing any new account creation.
VampireFreaks will still exist as the VampireFreaks Online Store and as an event promotions company and you can still follow us on social media. The VF online clothing store continues to flourish and you can always find us for your wardrobe needs. Our flagship event Dark Side of the Con has been doing amazingly well and growing by leaps and bounds every year. We have Steampunk Con this weekend which is a big 3-day steampunk convention in NJ. Our NYC club nights have been doing very well. I’m also a freelance website programmer and I’m always trying out new projects and I just have too many things going on. VF will continue to bring people together, but in real life at events such as Dark Side of the Con. I know this limits us to only people in certain areas, but it’s more fulfilling for us and we hope to expand to more areas. I’ve spent so much of my time online and I’ve realized that nothing compares to just spending quality time with your friends and loved ones, interacting with the real world.
To everyone who has supported VF over the past 20 years – Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’ve received countless messages over the years from members showing appreciation for the site.
To the VF Admins and staff – Thanks for doing an amazing job, I couldn’t have done this without you.
I know a part of me will die with the closure of our social network. It will be a depressing time for me and it’s hard for me to even write this out. 20 years is a lifetime in internet years. We had a great run and I’ll always be proud of what VF was. I just don’t want to do the same thing for the rest of my life and I want to focus on what works for me.
Much love.
-jet
Q & A written in the founder’s bio.
“Why did I create VF? It was something I just did for fun while I was in college, and I just kept working on it. It’s become a community of dark-minded individuals, a place where we can be ourselves without worrying about judgement, and also a place we can feel at home. VF has been around for a billion years just like me. One day the humans will catch on to my immortality but for now I will lurk among the normies.”
“Do you have to be a gothick to be on VF? nope but you do have to be a weirdo.”
What was the purpose of this site?
Meet like-minded people who share the same interest in fashion, music, movies and the gothic subculture. But in the present day, it has become a place for trolls. The site is no longer accepting new account creations.
VampireFreaks wasn’t the same as it used to be. I remember joining for the first time when I was 14 years old, which was a decade ago. The users were a different group of people. I would say they were more into the old school goth music. Now, the site became a completely different place. I get asked for my personal email and instant messaging username from people who don’t have a profile picture.
Why did I write this entry?
To bid farewell to the only unique Gothic social media that ever existed. After the deletion, there will be no more Gothic social media.
What are your opinions about a social media site targeting to a certain group of people?
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