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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Warning: Use of this Company Name May Be Triggering









Craigslist
Image credit: Photo by
Ben Gertzfield on Flickr
Licensed under Creative Commons

I attend a weekly 12 Step meeting for friends and family members of sex addicts, and part of our meeting script asks that group members refrain from mentioning specific company names or websites in their shares to avoid triggering others. Whenever I hear this part of the script, I always imagine that what's really meant is "please refrain from saying the word Craigslist."

While I've found Craigslist wonderfully useful for everything from finding writing jobs to getting rid of the kids' baby furniture, it has played a part in the addiction that has ravaged the lives of so many people Mark knows that (well before news of the so-called Craigslist Killer hit the stands) he refrained from visiting any part of the site for any reason in spite of never having used it to act out himself. (After all, if Facebook is dangerous to his recovery, a place like Craigslist would be lethal.) In fact, Mark has so many disturbing negative associations with the name alone that he does not even like to hear it.

Today, under pressure from law enforcement, Craigslist announced that it was doing away with its Erotic Services section and replacing it with an Adult Services section, which will be reviewed by Craigslist employees to ensure only postings from "legal adult service providers." While this may (depending on how well the ads are monitored and reviewed) curb prostitution, I have no doubt that, given its many perfectly legal ads for sex, Craigslist will have no problem retaining its dubious place of honor as an Internet hub for active sex addicts and a painful trigger for many addicts and spouses in recovery.
Posted by at 4:43 PM
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6 comments:

  1. I agree that its still going to be a place for sex addicts to induldge in their addiction, but I think its a baby step in the right direction.

    The section saying all nude pictures would be removed from the site was especially encouraging to me, given the way in which my SA uses craigslist.

    Hopefully this new found sense of accountablity will worm its way into other "sections" of craigslist as well.

    Thanks for sharing the article. :)
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  2. Despite the damage Craigslist it's doing to the ever growing population of sex addicts, this erotic section on Craigslist devalues all the wonderful things about the site. I have found gigs, sold concert tickets, purchased furniture, and applied to jobs on the site. It's an incredible tool. I don't understand why CL can't get rid of that section all together -it's like a virtual bathhouse in there! It's completely unnecessary and such a waste!
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  3. Monica, I do think it's a baby step in the right direction. But Enigma, I'm with you. I wish they'd do away with the sex related stuff entirely. It's such a great site without all that muck.
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  4. It is my belief that in the end Craig Newmark is looking to quietly significantly increase revenue so that he can sell off the rest of it. This Craigslist killer thing actually may help him. Prostitution ads used to be free. Then they started charging $5 for them with the profits going to help stop underage trafficking. This was largely an effort to increase positive PR. However, the new adult section specifically states that because it is a new section, they are no longer bound to that charitable agreement. And in fact they are raising the price to $10 and can keep the money for themselves. No doubt some of it will go to the staff member's salary who supposedly reviews the ads but the rest will go to the bottom line. If the goal is to sell the remaining stake in CL, then they will never get rid of the services and personal hookup sections of the site as they are probably accountable for the majority of the "hits" the site gets.
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  5. Stephanie, yes, I noticed that they were upping the price to $10 and leaving themselves room to keep the profits, which also disturbed me. I think the thing that has bothered me most is how cranky and defensive the CEO's comments have been about any change at all, as if operating an Internet brothel is ok as long as it doesn't result in really high rates of murder and assault.
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  6. I have the same feelings. My wife was involved in the causal encounters part of craigslist and I get triggered everytime someone mentions it. I can't even visit the site myself to use it for any purpose. And people talk about it all the time.
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