The biggest difference between Craigslist soon-to-be defunct "erotic services" and the new "adult services" sections will be human monitoring.
Jim Buckmaster
Craigslist on Wednesday announced that the Web classifieds site will do away with its controversial "erotic services" section and replace it with a new "adult services" section. The move comes after Craigslist managers were pressured by several state attorneys general to help remove from their site the posting of numerous ads for prostitution.
All the texts and photos within ads submitted to the adults section will be reviewed by a Craigslist employee before being posted, said CEO Jim Buckmaster in an interview with CNET News. With erotic services, Craigslist relied on users to flag questionable ads and also required those who submitted ads to use a credit card. The thinking behind the idea was that wrong doers would be less inclined to post ads if they had to provide identification.
The first thing the new changes will mean is that it should be much harder to post prostitution ads to the adult section. Filtering text and photos means that ads will also take much longer to appear on Craigslist than in the past.
"There will be a wait," Buckmaster said. "It's not going to be like the rest of the site where ads will go up in 15 minute or less. We don't know exactly what that wait will be long-term. It will probably be longer (than 30 minutes initially). New ads will only be reviewed during business hours. Ads posted outside of business hours will wait until business hours will resume."
Another major change will be the cost to post. Postings to adult services will cost $10, but once approved, will be eligible for reposting at $5. The cost to post to the soon-to-be banned erotic services section was $5.
Buckmaster and Craigslist's founder Craig Newmark have always prided themselves on keeping the site's operating costs down. That's why, for most of its existence, Craigslist has employed barely two dozen people to operate a site that services millions of people in the United States and about 50 countries. The site now has 30 employees. How many staff members Craigslist plans to add is still undetermined said Buckmaster.
Those critical of the state attorneys general who pressured Craigslist to make the changes, including AGs from Illinois and South Carolina, say that sex workers are likely to respond by just posting more discreet ads in other areas of the site. Buckmaster said the service is prepared for that.
"We're going to be looking for that," Buckmaster said. "We have blocking and filtering technologies in place site wide. And of course our flagging system remains fully in effect across all the categories, but we will be monitoring that situation."
Asked what kind of impact these changes will have on prostitution, Buckmaster would only talk about Craigslist.
"We're optimistic this will be the right balance," he continued. As always, we never consider our work to be done. We continue to evaluate all aspects of the site."
"What we're trying top do is strike a new balance with respect to all of the feedback from the concerned groups, including the attorneys general," Buckmaster continued. "Trying to incorporate all of that feedback and reach the best possible balance we're able to, is what we've sought to do with this new set of measures."
Craigslist, the online classifieds publication much loved by users for declining to charge a fee for most of its services, issued a statement Wednesday about the closing of its "erotic services" section and the opening of a new "adult services" section:
Striking A Balance
As of today for all US craigslist sites, postings to the "erotic services" category will no longer be accepted, and in 7 days the category will be removed.
Also effective today for all US sites, a new category entitled "adult services" will be opened for postings by legal adult service providers. Each posting to this new category will be manually reviewed before appearing on the site, to ensure compliance with craigslist posting guidelines and terms of use. New postings will cost $10, but once approved, will be eligible for reposting at $5.
Unsurprisingly, but completely contrary to some of the sensationalistic journalism we've seen these past few weeks, the record is clear that use of craigslist classifieds is associated with far lower rates of violent crime than print classifieds, let alone rates of violent crime pertaining to American society as a whole.
The relative safety of craigslist compared to print classifieds is likely due to some combination of:
* Measures such as blocking, screening, and telephone verification
* Community moderation via flagging system
* Electronic trail ensures violent criminals are quickly caught
* Personal safety tips prominently posted
* Unusually high level of cooperation with law enforcementCommunity moderation as exemplified by our flagging system is arguably the most successful system ever conceived for eliminating inappropriate activity from a massive internet community. Working in tandem with various other protective technologies, it is an inescapable force to be reckoned with for anyone set on abusing free internet communications across a broad array of posting types.
However, with respect to this new paid category for advertising by legal businesses, we will experiment with some of the methods traditionally employed in paid print classifieds.
We'd like to thank everyone who has provided helpful input over the past few weeks, all of which we've closely considered:
* Our users, whose suggestions have shaped every aspect of craigslist
* Attorneys General, who have provided valuable constructive criticism
* Law Enforcement officers nationwide, who have been hugely supportive
* Legal businesses concerned at their right to advertise being questioned
* EFF and other legal experts defending free speech and Internet lawWe are optimistic that the new balance struck today will be an acceptable compromise from the perspective of these constituencies, and for the diverse US communities that value and rely upon craigslist.
Note: Our announced intention to contribute 100% of net revenues for the "erotic services" category to charity has been fulfilled, and will continue to be fulfilled, notwithstanding criticism questioning our good faith in this regard. However, in light of today's changes, and to avoid any future misunderstanding, we are making no representation regarding how revenue from the "adult services" category will be used. Our commitment to philanthropy remains however, and craigslist will continue to develop its charitable initiatives.
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