craigslist

=Craigslist=

toc Craigslist is an online classified catering to almost the whole world. Categories includes job postings, housing, forums, personals, for sale/barter/wanted, services, volunteer and more.

How it works
"Our community has the same values as any religion or spiritual tradition," Newmark said. "Helping other people is a very high value, and that's what we're trying to do." By offering free services towards the public, they are able to perform such deed. Personally, Craigslist has become one my favorite sites. I’ve abolished posting on eBay (a fee is still a fee) and found the transaction a lot smoother through Craigslist. Dealing locally is so much safer and faster rather than going through the trouble of shipping, tracking, customs, PayPal, package being lost or damaged and NPB (non-paying-bidders). Not to mention its quickness: you’re in and out in a matter of seconds. There’s no need to sign up for anything! You can post just by putting your email address and you’re set. I have numerous friends that received jobs from postings and ads from Craigslist. When people perform a search on Craigslist, it displays the most recently posted listings first.

= =

History
"Basically, [Craigslist] began as a hobby, and that's all it was for a few years," creator Newmark says

It was founded in 1995 by Craig Alexander Newmark (yes there really is a Craig!). It was suppose to be an e-mail newsletter that notifies people in the San Francisco area of arts and technology about various special events. Eventually, Craigslist developed into a text-based community and classifieds site serving the San Francisco area. There are now over 300 Craigslist sites in all 50 US states, and over 50 countries. (see below for listings) The sites attract 7 million visitors and generate 1.7 billion page views each month. Analysts estimate the company's yearly revenue at between $7 million and $10 million.
 * ...then**
 * now...**

Employees
A staff of just eighteen employees supports the infrastructure and provides customer service, in an old Victorian house in San Francisco's Inner Sunset neighborhood that serves as the company's single office.

Creator
Craig used to be a senior Web-oriented software engineer, with twenty-five years of experience (including 18 years at IBM) before venturing into Craigslist. Craig is definitely committed to the community-building potential of the Internet. He often rejects hefty buyout offers, and refuses to make advertising a part of the company's business plan. The company's mission statement includes goals such as "restoring the human voice to the Internet, in a humane, non-commercial environment,"

Newmark is as normal as any Joe you meet in the street. He takes the bus to work and gave up the title of being Craigslist CEO in 2000 to Jim Buckmaster. He said that he enjoyed working with the public more than overseeing day-to-day operations. Now, Craig carries the unusual titles of chairman and customer service representative. He spends his days reading e-mails and answering customer complaints (a practice he says even the most high-powered CEO should partake of from time to time) There are numerous Craigslist story all over the net about Craig responding to people’s complaints and problems regarding the site.

Interface
Newmark makes no apologies for the company's unadorned text-based Web sites. "A journalist once said we have the visual appeal of a pipe wrench -- and we took that as a compliment," he said. "We have no plans to change from text-only. We're simple and fast, and we get to the point. We're committed to what we're doing, and we're not going to change that."

Newmark is a vocal advocate of keeping the Internet free, just like Linus Torvald regarding Open Source "If you want to be successful try to do the right thing," he said. "In the short term you can succeed by screwing people, but it doesn't work too well long term."

Posting on Craigslist
1. Click on "post to classifieds" located on the left-hand side of the page 2. Fill out the online form 3. Submit your posting. 4. You'll receive an email containing a link to an online form. This form will allow you make last-minute changes and then publish your posting. 5. Once published, your posting will appear on the site within 15 minutes. 6. Keep your email, because you can use the link later to edit or delete the posting at any time. 7. Posting from a Craigslist account will allow you to post, edit, delete, and repost without requiring the self-publishing email.

Factsheet
provided by [|Craigslist]


 * Q:** What is craigslist?
 * A:** Local classifieds and forums for communities worldwide - a place to find jobs, housing, goods & services, social activities, a girlfriend or boyfriend, information, advice, and just about anything else -- all for free, and in a non-commercial environment.
 * Q:** How did craigslist get started?
 * A:** In early 1995, by [|Craig Newmark], in San Francisco, California
 * Q:** Is craigslist a nonprofit?
 * A:** No, craigslist was incorporated as a for-profit in 1999.
 * Q:** What is craigslist trying to accomplish?
 * A:** Provide a trustworthy, efficient, relatively non-commerical place for folks to find all the basics in their local area.
 * Q:** Why doesn't craigslist focus more on generating revenue?
 * A:** We rely on local communities to suggest ways to make money without compromising craigslist.
 * Q:** Is there a connection between craigslist and eBay?
 * A:** eBay [|acquired 25%] of the equity in craigslist from a former shareholder in august of 2004.
 * Q:** Why does craigslist still use a .ORG domain? Isn't .ORG restricted to nonprofits?
 * A:** It is a symbol of our service mission and non-corporate culture. Use of .ORG domains is unrestricted.
 * Q:** How much traffic does craigslist get?
 * A:** More than 5 billion page views per month
 * Q:** How many people use craiglist?
 * A:** More than 15 million each month
 * Q:** How many classified ads does craigslist receive?
 * A:** More than 12 million new classified ads each month
 * Q:** How many job listings does craigslist receive?
 * A:** More than 750,000 new job listings each month
 * Q:** What about craigslist discussion forums?
 * A:** 50 million user postings in more than 100 topical forums
 * Q:** How many employees does craigslist have, and where are its offices located?
 * A:** 24 of us work out of a victorian house in the Inner Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco
 * Q:** How does craigslist support its operations?
 * A:** By charging businesses [|below-market rates] for help wanted ads in SF, NYC and LA, and for broker apartment listings in NYC.
 * Q:** Who runs craigslist?
 * A:** [|Jim Buckmaster] has been craigslist's president & CEO since late 2000.
 * Q:** How many craigslist sites are there, when were they launched, and why is craigslist expanding?
 * A:** Sites are added in response to user request. There are now over 300 craigslist sites in all 50 US states, and over 50 countries:
 * 3/1995: || SF Bay Area ||
 * 6/2000: || Boston ||
 * 8/2000: || Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Portland, San Diego, Seattle, Washington DC ||
 * 10/2000: || Sacramento ||
 * 4/2001: || Atlanta, Austin, Denver, Vancouver ||
 * 10/2002: || Miami, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Phoenix ||
 * 4/2003: || Dallas, Detroit, Houston, London, Toronto ||
 * 11/2003: || Baltimore, Cleveland, Honolulu, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, St. Louis, Tampa Bay ||
 * 1/2004: || Montreal, Providence ||
 * 2/2004: || Nashville, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Columbus, Fresno, Hartford, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Norfolk, Orlando ||
 * 9/2004: || Albuquerque, Anchorage, Boise, Buffalo, Memphis, Salt Lake, Santa Barbara, Manchester, Edinburgh, Dublin, Melbourne, Sydney ||
 * 11/2004: || Albany, Amsterdam, Bangalore, Eugene, Inland Empire, Monterey Bay, Omaha, Orange County, Ottawa, Paris, Reno, San Antonio, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Spokane, Tokyo, Tucson, Tulsa ||
 * 1/2005: || Auckland, Bakersfield, Belfast, Berlin, Brisbane, Brussels, Burlington, Calgary, Cardiff, Des Moines, Edmonton, Glasgow, Jacksonville, Louisville, Richmond, Stockton, Winnipeg ||
 * 2/2005: || Birmingham UK, Buenos Aires, Columbia, Manila, Mexico City, Rome, Seoul ||
 * 3/2005: || Zurich ||
 * 4/2005: || Allentown, Barcelona, Birmingham AL, Cape Town, Delhi, Hong Kong, Lexington KY, Little Rock, Madison, Maine, Modesto, Mumbai, New Haven, New Jersey, Rochester, Shanghai, Stockholm, West Palm Beach, Wichita ||
 * 6/2005: || Adelaide AU, Ann Arbor, Asheville, Athens GR, Bangkok, Beijing, Champaign-Urbana, Charleston SC, Chico, Dayton, Delaware, El Paso, Florence IT, Fort Myers, Frankfurt, Geneva, Grand Rapids, Halifax, Harrisburg, Humboldt, Istanbul, Jackson MS, Jerusalem, Johanessburg, Lima Peru, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Munich, New Hampshire, Oklahoma City, Osaka, Perth AU, Prague, Puerto Rico, Redding, Rio De Janeiro, San Luis Obispo, Santiago, Saskatoon, Syracuse NY, Tallahassee, Tel Aviv, Tijuana, Vienna, Western Massachusetts, Victoria BC, West Virginia ||
 * 7/2005: || Costa Rica, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming ||
 * 9/2005: || Baton Rouge, Bristol UK, Chennai IN, Ithaca, Knoxville, Leeds UK, Liverpool UK, Mobile, Montgomery, Newcastle UK, Pensacola, Quebec, Savannah, Shreveport, Toledo ||
 * 1/2006: || Bellingham WA, Cairo Egypt, Chattanooga TN, Colorado Springs CO, Gainesville FL, Hamilton ON, Kitchener ON, Hyderabad India, Lansing MI, Medford OR, Oxford UK, Palm Springs CA, Santa Fe NM, Taipei China, Ventura CA ||
 * 6/2006: || springfield MO, columbia MO, rockford IL, peoria IL, springfield IL, quad cities IL/IA, fort wayne IN, evansville IN, south bend IN, bloomington IN, gulfport-biloxi MS, huntsville AL, salem OR, bend OR, london ON, windsor ON, fort lauderdale FL, sarasota FL, daytona beach FL, cape cod MA, worcester MA, green bay WI, eau claire WI, appleton-oshkosh WI, flagstaff AZ, yakima WA, utica NY, binghamton NY, hudson valley NY, long island NY, akron-canton OH, youngstown OH, greenville SC, myrtle beach SC, duluth MN, augusta GA, macon GA, athens GA, flint MI, saginaw MI, kalamazoo MI, upper peninsula MI, mcallen TX, beaumont TX, corpus christi TX, brownsville TX, lubbock TX, odessa TX, amarillo TX, waco TX, laredo TX, winston-salem NC, fayetteville NC, wilmington NC, erie PA, scranton PA, penn state PA, reading PA, lancaster PA, topeka KS, new london CT, lincoln NE, lafayette LA, lake charles LA, merced CA, south jersey NJ, fort collins CO, roanoke VA, charlottesville VA, blacksburg VA, provo UT, fayetteville AR, rocky mountains, micronesia, helsinki FI, warsaw PL, oslo NO, naples IT, jakarta ID, marseilles FR, kolkata IN, budapest HU, caracas VE, hamburg DE, pakistan, bangladesh, beirut LB, malaysia, panama, caribbean, portugal, christchurch NZ, wellington NZ, durban ZA, prince edward island, newfoundland, cote d'azur ||
 * 6/2006: || springfield MO, columbia MO, rockford IL, peoria IL, springfield IL, quad cities IL/IA, fort wayne IN, evansville IN, south bend IN, bloomington IN, gulfport-biloxi MS, huntsville AL, salem OR, bend OR, london ON, windsor ON, fort lauderdale FL, sarasota FL, daytona beach FL, cape cod MA, worcester MA, green bay WI, eau claire WI, appleton-oshkosh WI, flagstaff AZ, yakima WA, utica NY, binghamton NY, hudson valley NY, long island NY, akron-canton OH, youngstown OH, greenville SC, myrtle beach SC, duluth MN, augusta GA, macon GA, athens GA, flint MI, saginaw MI, kalamazoo MI, upper peninsula MI, mcallen TX, beaumont TX, corpus christi TX, brownsville TX, lubbock TX, odessa TX, amarillo TX, waco TX, laredo TX, winston-salem NC, fayetteville NC, wilmington NC, erie PA, scranton PA, penn state PA, reading PA, lancaster PA, topeka KS, new london CT, lincoln NE, lafayette LA, lake charles LA, merced CA, south jersey NJ, fort collins CO, roanoke VA, charlottesville VA, blacksburg VA, provo UT, fayetteville AR, rocky mountains, micronesia, helsinki FI, warsaw PL, oslo NO, naples IT, jakarta ID, marseilles FR, kolkata IN, budapest HU, caracas VE, hamburg DE, pakistan, bangladesh, beirut LB, malaysia, panama, caribbean, portugal, christchurch NZ, wellington NZ, durban ZA, prince edward island, newfoundland, cote d'azur ||



Scams

 * 1. Someone claims that craigslist will guarantee a transaction, certify a buyer/seller, OR claims that craigslist will handle or provide protection for a payment**
 * These claims are fraudulent, as craigslist does not have any role in any transaction.
 * Scammer will often send an official looking email that appears to come from craigslist, offering a guarantee, certifying a seller, providing payment services -- all such emails are fakes!


 * 2. distant person offers a genuine-looking (but fake) cashier's check**
 * you receive an email (examples below) offering to buy your item, or rent your apartment, sight unseen.
 * cashier's check is offered for your sale item, as a deposit for an apartment, or for just about anything else of value.
 * value of cashier's check often far exceeds your item - scammer offers to "trust" you, and asks you to wire the balance via money transfer service
 * banks will often cash these fake checks AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE WHEN THE CHECK FAILS TO CLEAR, including criminal prosecution in some cases!
 * scam often involves a 3rd party (shipping agent, business associate owing buyer money, etc)


 * 3. Someone requests wire service payment via Western Union or MoneyGram:**
 * Often claim that an MTCN or confirmation code is needed before he can withdraw your money - this is FALSE, once you've wired money, it is GONE.
 * Scam "bait" items include laptops, plasma TVs, cell phones, tickets - but could be almost anything
 * common countries currently include: Nigeria, Romania, Ukraine, Spain, UK, Italy, Netherlands - but could be anywhere
 * deal often seems too good to be true


 * 4. distant person offers to send you a money order and then have you wire money:**
 * this is ALWAYS a scam, in our experience - the cashier's check is FAKE
 * sometimes accompanies an offer of merchandise, sometimes not
 * scammer often asks for your name, address, etc for printing on the fake check
 * deal often seems too good to be true


 * 5. distant seller suggests use of an online escrow service.**
 * most online escrow sites are FRAUDULENT, operated by scammers
 * for more info, do a google search on "fake escrow" or "escrow fraud"