Okies...after using this thing for a few days, I have some new comments to make.
Shadowgod, you are correct sir. The experience one gets off of Grindr depends solely on its users and your own intentions. Grindr is not an inherently bad tool. In fact, I think this may have just become one of my favorite apps on my phone. But without the 'block' feature, grindr would have lost favor for me, and I'm sure many others after the first day. You click block for anyone and you will never have to see/hear/deal with them ever again. This effectively weeds all the creeps, those desperate-to-get-laid or just people you don't wanna talk to.
With that being said, I've been enjoying Grindr thoroughly since I brought it back to school with me on Monday. My experience with it may be slightly unique given that I am a college student on a campus of 50,000 students. Give that, this thing's been picking up users left and right, and a few guys I already knew. I've been hesitant to post a picture of myself, but have sent one to those I have chatted with. There are many others like me. What I discovered is that the majority of students are in fact just using this to chat and make friends rather than trying to meet up right away or hooking up. 3 days in, and I already found 4-5 guys to chat with regularly and 2 of them are closeted like me. Now, the most interesting/addicting part of the whole app is its location service. I click it open in every class just to see how many students are around and to what proximity. Plenty of ice breakers come from this neat little gps. It's not always accurate but sometimes it get's pretty close.
Sure, anyone could use this like craigslist, but it offers more than that, it's what you do and what you wanna receive that makes this tool what it is.