For a more contextual reading, the investigative posts from journalist Josh Kurp at The Awl and Andy Baio's Cannibalism on the Web remain some of the most comprehensive contemporary accounts of the forum in its original state.

The most heartbreaking part of the archive is the personal ads. Dozens of young men (and a few women) posting detailed physical stats, blood types, and preferred cooking methods. Many of them were clearly mentally ill, using the fantasy of consumption as a metaphor for wanting to disappear or be loved absolutely.

Launched in the early 2000s, the Cannibal Cafe was a clearnet forum (yes, you read that right—clearnet) dedicated to two specific paraphilias: (the sexual fantasy of being eaten or eating another) and consumption fantasy.