Closing Arguments: The Craigslist Responsibility?

This story was so, so disappointing to watch and listen to. It stunk of fear mongering and at several moments I truly thought I was watching Fox News. It was neither investigative nor unbiased.
The internet is public, it just happens to be in writing. Long gone are the days in which we try to project that the web is filled with anything more frightening than a public place. Where were the interviews with the people that placed the ads? Where were the interviews with people who use craigslist to have a “casual encounter?” (And for the record, why are those folks any different than someone who walks into a bar looking for a one-night-stand?)
By insinuating that the programmers who run a website for public use are solely responsible for its content, we enable the concept of thought police and language control.
Is the system abused? Sure. Are there creeps and criminals out there? Absolutely. But the ads on craigslist are no different than the print ads that appear in any alternative weekly in most cities, or the conversations that take place on dark street corners that none of us are usually privy to.
There are solutions to be found. But something tells me crime, creeps, and prostitution would still find a way to exist with or without a team of people looking for “dirty words” on the Internet. To attempt to put the founder of a network on the spot by reading him “racy ads” doesn’t push the concept of Internet responsibility – it only makes Nightline sound like a bunch of prudes and immune to the dangers of public thought monitoring.
This could have been an intelligent piece. Instead it was just ridiculous. Too bad.

I just contacted Craigslist, since he says he listens to his subscribers. They have a box for suggestions… I suggested that they are 110% responsible for Craig’s listings. I suggested that they have already made enough from these ads for this lifetime. I suggested that they would sleep better at night if the listings were not on their sight. And I told them that it is otherwise a terrific website, one that I may never use again. Sincerely…

I’m in total agreement with Melissa E. above. Mr. Bashir is very biased & not true journalist. Craigslist is one of the best sites on the web. It is free to the public which is rare in this day & age. They are not responsible for the despicable acts that some of the members perpetrate. I do believe they try to patrol the site with diligence but for the sheer volume of activity it would be impossible to monitor all ads. Mr. Bahir’s innuendo to the sites approval of prostitution is totally ridiculous. Craigslist… keep up the good work & thank you!!

I must reply to Mary Ann Barbaro and Fix Government and others that insist the personals or the erotic section needs to be removed from the CL site.
are you also contacting your local daily or weekly printed newspapers, the Pennysaver, the free weekly newspaper that is jam packed with your city’s major news items and city guidelines, entertainment guide (movie times & theatrical performances & restaurant reviews)
what about those newspaper’s online classifieds? try looking up what it is your local/city’s online classifieds have available.
what about the phone books for your area? should the phone company, newspapers, any and all university/college magazines, etc. be refusing revenue.
the list can go on forever. You can not have the position of “Not in my backyard” or decide that because your moral standards are set so high that everyone must follow suit? this
looking down your nose and having a superior than thou attitude is a dangerous position. seriously, re-read your comments they have been articulated so read as incredibly immature.
it’s like the scenerio that many parents take, insisting their kids don’t do anything wrong or get high, despite knowing they do & are.
if you do not agree with any of the personal ads, then do not read them.
if you have kids, then be responsible for once and monitor their computer usage and do not allow them to have any internet access on their tricked out cell phones. parents have got to monitor all electronic devices & internet usage. problem is they don’t and always assume their little bundle of joy is an angel. i live in between 1 elementary school, a middle school, and high school.
the middle school boys are the most offensive, worst behaved, have the filthiest language and view women as sex objects if she is attractive.
being a massage provider, i have to stay in shape. i am in my 40′s but look at most in my 30′s i am attractive and not at all inappropriate in my attire or behavior. those boys need to have the crap spanked out of their spoiled rotten over indulged butts and given crash course TRAINING in how a young man needs to behave.
this idiot that killed 25-year-old Julissa Brisman, the massage provider and beat up and robbed others, is& i’ll lay odds on this, that he is one of those “good kids, that never did anything wrong” and his parents & others completely over looked his spoiled rotten i am doing what i want behavior.
instead of blaming CL and instead of blaming any of the victims or daring that any of you is so much better than and OMG!is so danged offended, (please)the source of this problem goes to and remains with the parents and the way that guy was raised.
before you object, look at the quote alongside his senior high school picture!
Mr. fix the gov’t. where was the oversite or compliance by the adults
he was gambling, doing a very illegal activity folks and guess what? his very spoiled, privileged butt wasn’t held accountable it seems for anything, neither was mom & dad and the high school published his statement-and that is the fault of the adult year book adviser,the school board and the entire community. no one voiced any objection that an under aged minor was gambling….gee and no one else see this as a problem?? don’t blame a online service for the actions of a spoiled rotten brat & the lousy parenting he received and the lack of concern or even alarm by his community.

What next? Ads for sex in the printed news section?! Craigslist should be shut down until they remove that illegal section.

Interesting that other craigslist patrons wanted the special section set up to get the ads outof their own sections. A blogger from Aberdeen Scotland recently noted that the local government decided to rescind a policy of having a tolerance zone for prostitution, with the result, not of the elimination of prostitution, but of the prostitutes scattering throughout the city.
As for the comment that our morals are declining, the Union Army in Nashville during the Civil War licensed prostitutes with a requirement for a weekly medical exam. It was a successful attempt to reduce the STD rate among the union troops.
The British Army in 19th century India had brothels on post. Reformers back in England ordered them all disbanded. The STD rate among British soldiers skyrocketed, prompting the army to reestablish the brothels. The STD rate sank. The Victorians were not as asexual as either liberals or conservatives think
The craigs list ads are only the on line version of classified ads. The kiler could have targetted other types of ads.

Martin Bashir has just lost even more credibility after doing this “news” piece. He tries to act like he is taking a moral high ground when in fact, he is just being as biased as possible. Since Martin Bashir can not seem to report ANYTHING good about CL or at least give facts onto how rare these incidences are statistically, it is apparent he has his “investigation” made up before he even starts his interview. ABC should be embarrassed that this “news” was allowed to be broadcast.

i feel that everyone that plays with all that online risky behavior, is the one that makes the choices to put themselves in those positions…why would u want to meet someone from an online site that you have never met? and risk loosing your life? that is a choice of all those woman, and men that have been injured and or killed related to craigslist…im not saying what has happened is right, i do feel bad for the families and friends, but at the same time if those people that lost their lives and got injured never put themselves in that position, then they would still be alive…it is choices and people need to make smart ones…with the way that the world is today, you are stupid if you make the choice to “hookup” online…

Com’on people,to comndemn craigslist is ludicrous…”erotic services”is one category of the many that the service offers…a choice…if you don’t want this service, Don’t click there. to blame the service for the hienous murder committed by one deranged individual only gives creedence the “kill the Messenger” mindset of our society. I commend Mr. Newmark for standing his ground…let’s put the onus where it belongs…on the guy that did the deed.
If we are going to have a witch hunt…let, make sure we’re hunting the right witch !!!
You can’t legislate away the actions of the “lunatic fringe”. Recent news events [ie. mass killings and the reactive impotence of law enforcement] should bear this out!!! Just another example of a “knee jerk” response from the news media and society at large…a wish to legislate away more of our rights and freedoms. This time the first amendment of the Constitution of the United States…

There was a case where someone went to Craigslist and made a post requesting someone to rape his wife. The poster wanted to fulfil some type of fantasy he had.
This needs to be cleaned up but how. Kids have access to this crap. I never have used Craigslist for the good stuff that it does. However, I went online and went to the personals and was appaled by what I saw. People were exposing body parts, especially men. Our kids have access to this.
The internet is a great tool but with any innovation there sometimes comes a price.