Whats Wrong With Craigslist?
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
What is Craigslist
Craigslist is a true phenomena. Whether you run a retail business, an ad agency, or pretty much anything else, you must have come into contact with Craigslist in your lifetime. Craigslist is now of the highest ranking websites on the Alexa ratings and it is worldwide.
Craigslist (styled craigslist) is a classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, items wanted, services, community, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums. – Wikipedia
Craig Newmark began the service in 1995 as an email distribution list of friends, featuring local events in the San Francisco Bay Area, before becoming a web-based service in 1996 and expanding into other classified categories. It started expanding to other U.S. cities in 2000, and currently covers 50 countries.
Problems with Craigslist
Craigslist was intended to be used as a local service among people that knew one another. Soon, word of mouth led to rapid growth. The number of subscribers and postings grew rapidly. There was no moderation and Newmark was surprised when people started using the mailing list for non-event items. User demand for more categories caused the list of categories to grow. Due to it’s viral success some people became over zealous and starting abusing the system by posting items that were offensive, over posting and posting in non localized areas.
According to Craigslist guidelines a user may post content only to the single specific geographic area offered on craigslist (see http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites) for which that content is most relevant. The same or substantially similar content (for example, an ad for a particular item or service, a particular offer, a particular message or a particular comment) may not be posted to or communicated via more than one such geographic area. Content that is equally relevant to multiple (i.e., more than one) geographic areas should not be posted on craigslist.
The major problem with Craiglist is that as it has grown the guidelines have become more stringent. If you have ever tried to post on Craigslist and have gotten your ad to “stick” you are way ahead of the curve. Between the limit on how many times you can post, typically once every 48 hours, only being allowed one account to be phone verified, and the fact that even if you comply and stay local people that want to can come along and “flag” your ad for removal without any good reason.
Craigslist Tips and Tricks
So the Craigslist is a major pain in the a$$ but lets face it, it is one of the best ways to communicate to others what it is you need, whom you wish to hire, purchase goods, hey even find a spouse if you are so inclined. It is a love hate relationship for me with Craigslist because although it is extremely difficult to get along with you have to appreciate that without all of the stopgaps there would be a hodgepodge of spamming and garbage from irresponsible, overzealous posters.