Craigslist: Can They Stop Prostitution Ads?

Craigslist is making efforts to eliminate ads for prostitutes. The company may suffer if the prostitution ad problem cannot be curtailed. Recently the site has received negative publicity due to a series of crimes that involved craigslist users.

Imposters, scammers, prostitution services and prostitutes all appear to use the website to ply their services or trade. On the company's official blog site known as blog.craigslist.org, CEO & programmer Jim Buckmaster discusses the success of craigslist in reducing prostitution ads. "In early March we implemented a phone verification system for our "erotic services" category, which taken together with other measures has reduced the volume of ads in this category by 80%, and more importantly has significantly improved compliance with our terms of use and other posted guidelines" the blog states.

Jim Buckmaster's blog entry went on to say "Misuse of craigslist for unlawful purposes is unacceptable to us, and we will continue to look for additional ways to eliminate it, while preserving full functionality for the overwhelming majority of well-intentioned law abiding craigslist users, including those who use our "erotic services" category."

The company's response to both the negative publicity regarding prostitutes and the problem of nefarious users seems to have gained steam lately. The actions cannot come too soon. The growing popularity of the site will only continue if quality control of its users maintains pace with the websites growth.

If too many false ads, fake ad responders, criminals and prostitutes ply craigslist waters then the site will lose its usefulness. It currently is one of the easiest, least expensive and most effective ways to sell items, get dates and gossip according to users. In fact, the ads are free for the majority of users.

Other problems Craigslist faces that have yet received much publicity, even on the small cadre of websites now covering the company, include: Offers to share or trade illegal drugs and. what are know as "Nigerian Scams."

A search of almost any major city on the company's website results in a large number of ads with the terms "Four Twenty" and "Go fast" which are commonly used to describe drugs. With the challenges that loom, the prostitute and prostitution ads may be the least of their worries.

Recently, this author was the intended victim of the Nigerian Scam twice in one week. The experience is discussed in an article that will appear at Associated Content entitled " Craigslist Nigerian Scam: Mail My Laptop to Nigeria?" The Nigerian Scam may be a harder issue for the company deal with than the prostitute ads.

Jim Buckmaster has the opportunity to make his company the new Google. If he plays his cards right, it may just become the most dominate site on the internet. If they let muggers, pimps and prostitutes take over the site, they will never achieve the full potential.

Sources:

Jim Buckmaster Craigslist Blog craigslist.inc

Associated Content, Inc Associated Content, Inc.