New craigslist measures regarding human trafficking and spam fighting

Folks, it's taken a lot of time and effort, but we're announcing some big moves today.

Jim Buckmaster, our CEO, has been working with Attorneys General throughout the country, law enforcement, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, NCMEC. Jim's done a great job.

We'll be working together to fight predators, which includes charging in our "erotic services" category. 100% of profits from this will be contributed to charity. An external accounting firm will be retained to track the details. We will NOT profit from this.

Ad spammers take advantage of craigslist, and we don't tolerate that. We'll be discussing this with ad spam technology providers and others in court. We're not litigious, but this is a good complement to our technology efforts.

More info at blog.craigslist.org

Comments

[johan]

sorry to offend the resident sex addicts -Johan

[johan]

"Sometimes you need to pander to a necessary evil in order to make other good and positive sections viable and usable."

Except that the working girls are well known to troll the personals and casual encounters category.

[Delia]

re: "My point was that there really is not much within the "Erotic Services" category that (at the end of the day) is not prostitution. Wink wink. we all know this. Let's get real."

Hi, Johan! unless you believe Craig's "update response" *does* in fact address the very good issues you raised (I don't see how it could possibly do that), you may consider bringing this things up in other places where people may indeed care... Take care! D.

[CL User]

Why do they invest money to continue this category?

That's an easy answer that goes back to the whole reason the category exists in the first place.

It keeps the majority of ads for pay services out of the personals section.

Same reason there is a Casual Encounters section to keep the people looking for sex out of the ads for people looking for a real relationship.

Sometimes you need to pander to a necessary evil in order to make other good and positive sections viable and usable.

[johan]

Craig, you did deal with it. It's actually a pretty interesting concept, and I'm curious to see if you can fight this sickness with economics alone. But then I wonder why you don't take the step of just choosing not to HAVE such a category.

What I fear is that you will create a new market for throwaway cell phones and Visa gift cards, which can both be acquired with cash (hey, don't their clients pay cash anyway?).

My point was that there really is not much within the "Erotic Services" category that (at the end of the day) is not prostitution. Wink wink. we all know this. Let's get real.

As far as flagging to eliminate inappropriate ads, the majority of flagging is done by hookers and pimps who are attacking their competition.

Why invest money and create a system to CONTINUE this category? Every dollar you raise to be donated to sex slavery outreach programs, etc, will be raised on the back of other women. Think about it.

[johanseb]

UPDATE: Johan, we've already addressed this, recently, please check blog.craigslist.org

Unfortunately (and I'm not sure what Craig's original intentions were), the Erotic Services section of CL has become a huge enabler (if not expander) of prostitution.

True, most major daily newspapers (not to mention weekly and alternatives) also accept prostitution ads, but craigslist's past practice of free ads removed virtually all barriers to entering the business. Prostitution grew by leaps and bounds as a result of the 1-2-punch combination of high traffic that came with the other free ads.

Really, I wish that craigslist would choose to exercise its "right" to not publish this category, as it simply enables things such as abuse, addiction and a host of other societal problems. Why further the problem? Who might suffer? A few dominatrix types? Big deal.

[Darian]

Very involved discussion. Interesting.

[Delia]

sorry about the delay... (was away for the day)

CLuser: sorry but I do not wish to follow you anywhere or anything of the kind (I've already said everything I had to say to you)

Sarah: I think you've done pretty much everything you could have done under the circumstances (and definitely a lot more that craigslist could have reasonably expected you to do)

If you really want to do more about this, I would contact legal institutions. If you have trouble with the local ones and believe they are corrupt or non-responsive for some reason, I'd go up the ladder.

Richard Blumenthal, although not the attorney general for your particular state is very familiar with craigslist issues so he would make a prime candidate if there is a way to just drop him a line somewhere (I'd keep it short and to the point, with hyperlinks to what you see as evidence and with a short story of what you've done so far including your contacting craigslist).

Delia

P.S. OK... I'm entirely done with this topic (didn't realize it was going to get this involved). D.

Take care everyone!

Delia

[CL User]

*sigh*

Sarah, it is obvious from your post that you don't appear to understand how Craigslist's Forums work. I posted the first post in that thread and someone else posted the response to it, feel free to reply to my original post, not the person who replied to me.

I just posted a new reply with a green handle for you to see, respond to that please.

and also, one can easily say the same things to you about "Getting a life and minding your own business" and getting a forum for verbal tirades, since nothing you have posted can be classified as anything other than a tirade.

This is just as much my concern as it is your concern over this other person's postings on the site.

[Sarah]

CL. First of all, I went to the link you provided. I have no idea what transpired there, but this was posted.: "This discussion needs to end. 11/07 09:45:07

If everyone involved in this convo could kindly take their SHIT out of our forum, I think that would be for the best. I suggest you try forumID=9400.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/forums/?ID=107154361
d there:". It sounds to me as though you are trying to challenge Delia and Me, to follow you into the alley, but when we get there, you are not.

Second of all, get a life and mind your own business. Is craigslist.org your whole life, at least for the past 8 years? Who invited you to inject yourself into this? Are you hearing voices?

As for what you say you have witnessed on the site over the past 8 years, well you just seem to be regurgitating that which is listed on the site.

You seem to be the one who gives the appearance of being a crazy person "ranting about things in an irrational matter", about that which is none of your concern in the first place. Check with your doctor, who may be able to offer treatment for your verbal diarrhea and "buttinski-itis".

Don't waste my time. Get your own forum for your verbal tirades.