TresSugar

Is This Craigslist Ad Real?

TresSugar — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 03:00:00 -0700

Moving to San Francisco? Well, do I have the place and 'mate for you. It doesn't have any space, but rent's only $680. Now I totally believe this apartment exists . . . but this is either a joke or the most terrifyingly unself-aware person out there. I am almost tempted to go check it out.

Hello, I am seeking a nice room mate to share my 2 bedroom home.

You won't have to pay utilities or do any chores so it's perfect for a young person or a student.

But I cannot have anybody touching or moving my stuff because it would set off a chain reaction of emotions and feelings towards you and towards my things. Hoarding is not a mental illness, it is something environmentally responsible because I don't like to throw anything away. But the San Francisco Department of public health said my living conditions were unsafe and came in and forcibly removed my things I have been collecting for over 40 years. It traumatized me and I have been rebuilding my collection ever since.

Read the rest of the ad and vote on its validity after the jump

The Harsh Truth About Craigslist Missed Connections

TresSugar — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 06:00:00 -0700

Have you ever spied your dream lover in the frozen food section of Trader Joe's but were too shy to start a conversation or flirt? Maybe you were moved to post a prose poem on Craigslist's oddball "Missed Connections" section, writing to that person in the hopes that they would read your true feelings, remember who the hell you were, and contact you.

Still don't understand what Missed Connections is? Here's what the superharsh Craigslist genie has to say about it: "If you’re too much of a mush-butt to approach a person in the real world, you post an ad on Craigslist hoping that person is a pathetic loser who goes on to Craigslist and searches for losers who are searching for him.” Ouch!

There’s much to recommend this video, but just when you think the hilarity is done with, the real comedy comes in. This poor, shy soul's cat starts dissing her, calling her a “cat lady” and asking why she wears such long skirts. Sigh. Maybe this is what cats are all really thinking when they sit there and stare at us!

The Case For Craigslist: Are Its Date Seekers More Honest?

TresSugar — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:00:00 -0700

Desperately seeking authenticity? Maybe it's time to ditch self-conscious, niche dating sites for the shrouded cloak of Craigslist. People there are anything but afraid to ask for what they want: "Looking for a fun woman to experiment with who likes Gossip Girl!" "Relationship in exchange for financial help." "Let's get married this year!"

But while Craigslist can seem sleazy, desperate, and even dangerous, writer Katherine Sharpe at n + 1 points out that at least users are being honest, unlike the folks with their primped pictures and rehearsed lines on Match. After all, how many people, she asks, can be "laid-back" and "not take themselves too seriously"? (Perhaps as many people who claim the The Da Vinci Code as their favorite book?)

Craigslist is the only dating site (that I know of) that hasn't morphed into a social-networking site, and so it's the only one to remain truly anonymous. It's honest and open - open all night! - and specific. So if you're looking for a fellow Gossip Girl fan who's uptight, hates long walks on the beach, and reads Kafka - Craigslist is your best bet.

Source

Selling Sex Online Can Benefit Prostitutes and Police

TresSugar — Thu, 28 May 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Craigslist is like a brothel, only safer. Yesterday, Slate gave a rundown of how the online classified site's recent decision to close down its erotic services section hurts both prostitutes and police.

Here are some key arguments in favor of facilitating the sale of sex online:

Unlike brothels, Craigslist voluntarily provides client records to police. The records helped apprehend Phillip Markoff, the so-called Craigslist Killer.
A high-trafficked destination for sex sales makes it easier for law enforcers to target their policing.
Thanks to Craigslist, prostitutes could work for themselves without having to rely on a pimp or an agency.
Selling sex online means fewer prostitutes selling their services on the streets.

Since there will always be a market for the oldest profession, do you think regulating the sale of sex online sounds like the safest option?

Source

Craigslist Drops Ads For Erotic Services

TresSugar — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:00:00 -0700

Prior to garnering a namesake killer, Craigslist took a laissez-faire approach to erotic advertising. The site offered a gold mine for anyone looking to sell, or pay for, sex.

After the murders of call girls who advertised on the site, the classifieds giant will no longer advertise "erotic services." Craigslist announced today that it will create a new "adult services" category. (Semantics can be so sexy.) The change goes further than the name: Craigslist employees will monitor the site, and initial postings will cost $10.

For a while now, law enforcers around the country have argued that Craigslist abetted prostitution with its hands-off approach. If you're wondering how blatant ads for prostitution went on for so long, federal law says that online hosts cannot be held responsible if third-party posters violate the law.

Still, public pressure motivated Craigslist to make a change. It also noted in its statement that the site's violent crime rate is far lower than the violent crime rate associated with print classified and throughout general American society.

Do you think Craigslist is taking a responsible approach, or is this just "erotic services" with another name?

Craigslist Founder Memorializes Murder Victim

TresSugar — Mon, 04 May 2009 10:05:00 -0700

"Despite the billions of times well-meaning people have helped each other through Craigslist, it's been devastating to see that it can also be used by bad people to take cruel advantage of others."

–Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist at a gathering to honor a 24-year-old Minnesota woman, Katherine Ann Olson, who was murdered after responding to a fake ad for a babysitter.

Source

More Details Emerge in the Case of the "Craigslist Killer"

TresSugar — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:10:00 -0700

Emerging details from the case of the accused Craigslist Killer reveal that "clean cut" Phillip Markoff was likely living a life unrecognizable to his close friends and family.

This morning a man came forward on the Today Show to recount how Markoff petitioned him for sexual activities on Craigslist's Casual Encounters. The man said:

I posted an ad on Craigslist under "male for t," which stands for "males for transsexuals." That's where he found me.

This may be just the tip of the iceberg. Markoff reportedly told his family: "There's more coming out . . . Forget about me and move to California." If you were in the shoes of Markoff's family, what would you do?

To see video of the man who may have been targeted by Markoff, read more.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Does This Man Look Like a Murderer?

TresSugar — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 08:30:00 -0700

Clean cut blond man. Medical student with a fiancée.

In almost every news story that you read about alleged Craigslist killer, Philip Markoff, who is accused of murdering a masseuse whose ad he answered, there is always some comment about the incongruity between his looks and/or educational background and the murder of 26-year-old Julissa Brisman that he's accused of.

Do these reporters have amnesia about America's most notorious serial killers, like Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy? Last time I checked, each of them looks like the boy next door (albeit with a lot of crazy in the eyes). If Markoff doesn't look like a killer - who does? What is our expectation, rational or not? To read about Markoff and to hear more baffling comments from experts, read more.

New York forensic psychologist Michael Welner told Good Morning America that, although Markoff targeted masseuses (usually a code word on Craigslist for prostitute), the alleged crimes were about money, not sex or power. Um, really? It's stupefying to me that an "expert" could say this. I'm no expert - but I would venture to guess that his alleged crimes were about a combination of all those motivations.

As more details emerge about Markoff - that he has a gambling addiction, and today, that he collected his victims' panties (before Brisman, he roughed up and robbed another masseuse, Trisha Leffler, who was lucky he didn't kill her) - the mystery deepens as to who this man is. But the mystery should not settle around how a clean-cut blond man could commit murder.

Source

Craigslist Casual Encounters: A New(ish) Sexual Frontier

TresSugar — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:00:00 -0700

I wonder how many people Craigslist founder Craig Newmark has helped to find an apartment, sell a guitar . . . or hook up.

Besides its helpful housing, for sale, and job sections, Craigslist has a personals section that caters to every predilection, ranging from the strictly platonic to relationship seekers to Casual Encounters - its anonymous sex hookup section.

Sometimes dangerous and often disappointing, Casual Encounters is nevertheless part of what gives the Craigslist personals section higher traffic than other online personals sites - including Match.com, eHarmony, and Yahoo personals.

"Our users like the ability to be both candid and, initially, anonymous," says Newmark matter of factly about Casual Encounters, which accounts for 2 percent of all Craigslist postings.

In a recent New York Times trend piece, 100 or so users were interviewed about their experiences and provided a peek into who posts and answers those ads: Craigslist Casual Encounters attracts a gamut, from "desperados" to prostitutes and spammers and thrill-seeking hotties. Click here to read more.

Nola, a 42-year-old saleswoman in Manhattan, seeks men who will meet her in a public place, so she can go to the bathroom, take her underwear off, and hand it to them in an envelope - for a fee. Melvin, a 35-year-old divorcé, recently made the mistake of going to a woman's apartment before meeting her in public, finding that she was insecure about her weight and trying to hide it by turning out the lights.

And then there's someone like Michael, a handsome artist who claims, "I've met some extraordinarily beautiful women, had a few extraordinary sexual encounters that made my teeth itch and my brain sweat, put me in states of weird contemplation like, 'My God, I’ve never experienced that before.'"

Casual Encounters has been around since 2000 and has probably changed the way a lot of sexually frustrated people deal with dry spells. The question is - does it work? And is it healthy for the parties involved?

Source

Songs in the Key of Craigslist: "Brush My Hair"

GiggleSugar — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:00:00 -0800

Oh, Craigslist. Where else are we going to learn about how weird people and their desires are without actually having to date them? Someone took a Craigslist ad about a guy looking for "a woman or group of women" to brush his hair and turned it into a song that I could imagine the Flight of the Conchords guys singing. This special dude reluctantly admits that, OK, it's kinda arousing to him to have his hair brushed, but even those with unusual fetishes have their standards: This woman or group of women can't smell like milk. (Um, what?!)