backtop

Print 75 comment(s) - last by BailoutBenny.. on May 7 at 2:59 PM
Craigslist is under pressure to get control of its escort advertisements

Craigslist has several important issues it must deal with, as company representatives recently met with officials over suspected advertisements posted on the site related to erotic services and other sexual activity.

Craigslist attorneys and representatives met with the attorneys general from Connecticut, Illinois, and Missouri to discuss safety concerns related to the site.

"Craigslist has continued to develop further improvements, some of which have been introduced in the last two weeks,” Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster said.  “We’re optimistic this goal can be reached while preserving all beneficial aspects of a site enjoyed by tens of millions of Americans, and without compromising the quintessentially American values of free speech embodied in our constitution.”

Buckmaster described the meeting as "cordial and productive."

Specifically, the meeting was arranged when Philip Markoff, a 23-year-old medical student at Boston University, was charged with murder after allegedly meeting with a masseuse through the website.  Nicknamed the "Craigslist killer," Markoff met and robbed several people through the site.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan requested Craigslist close the "erotic services" portion of the site, which often includes prostitution ads.  She also said the "walls are really closing in" on the popular web site, and hopes to see drastic change in the company's policies moving forward.

Last year, 40 state attorneys general reached an agreement with Craigslist to crack down on suspected illegal behavior, but it's still rampant on the site.  Suspicious activity can be flagged by users, but the small staff of just 28 employees often has a difficult time trying to keep up.

Even though Buckmaster previously said its company can't be held accountable for the content its users post on the site, legislators still expect serious changes to be made.  Until Craigslist begins to seriously crack down on illegal activities on the site, it's unlikely state officials will give the site any slack.

Comments     Threshold


This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
legalize it
By Jargo on 5/6/2009 9:18:09 AM , Rating: 5
phew, how about legalizing prostitution and advertising for it to get rid of the problem?
No way you will stop prostitution anytime soon so better be realistic about it, morallising wont help at all.




RE: legalize it
By rdeegvainl on 5/6/2009 9:43:33 AM , Rating: 5
legalize it, and make a certification of sorts for it. If you put the proper safeguards on it, like std testing and have it in the open... no problem


RE: legalize it
By saiga6360 on 5/6/09, Rating: -1
RE: legalize it
By clovell on 5/6/2009 11:10:14 AM , Rating: 3
Have you ever been to Las Vegas? I hear Southwest runs flights starting under $200.


RE: legalize it
By theapparition on 5/6/2009 12:05:41 PM , Rating: 2
Prostitution is illegal within Las Vegas city borders.
However, it's only a short ride to the right area.


RE: legalize it
By ClownPuncher on 5/6/2009 11:23:06 AM , Rating: 4
That was the craziest rant I have read all month. Thank you.


RE: legalize it
By Samus on 5/6/2009 4:38:37 PM , Rating: 2
They'll never legalize prostitution here, too many women in politics.

(and before someone mentions it, I am aware Queen Beatrix is head of state in the Netherlands)


RE: legalize it
By tlampen on 5/6/09, Rating: -1
RE: legalize it
By NINaudio on 5/6/2009 10:51:35 AM , Rating: 5
quote:
I don’t understand why prostitution is illegal. Selling is legal, f*cking is legal. So why isn’t it legal to sell f*cking?
George Carlin

To legalize would give the women protection from pimps. If a pimp beats his workers now, they have nowehere to go because what they do is illegal. They fear being arrested if they go to the poliec for help. Make it legal and pimps who beat these women will be stopped because the women won't be afraid to go to the police.

It has been legal and legislated in some counties in Nevada for a long time. I can't check right now due to filters at work, but I believe there is very little to no STD's in the legal brothels in Nevada. Probably less incidence of it then in the general populace.


RE: legalize it
By omnicronx on 5/6/09, Rating: -1
RE: legalize it
By clovell on 5/6/2009 12:44:56 PM , Rating: 2
Seriously? If the prostitute goes to the cops - SHE GETS ARRESTED TOO. And that's why it goes unreported.

As for laws being put in place to protect those breaking it - can I shoot you if you run a stop sign?

And this is not even comparable to drugs, which far more often result in physical harm being committed against others. How is legalizing prostitution any more 'protecting people from themselves' than making illegal?


RE: legalize it
By omnicronx on 5/6/2009 2:52:41 PM , Rating: 1
Seriously where are you getting your information from? My GF is a social worker, and generally the police are more than willing to arrest a pimp and not charge the prostitute if they are willing to testify against them (which is the reason they would come forward in the first place). Her entire agency has only even had one client get arrested for turning her pimp in, and in that case she was actually arrested for solicitation (i.e she was caught in the act) and then when she was brought in, she reported that her pimp was beating her. Even in that case the charges were dropped when she later testified. I'm not saying it does not happen, it surely does, but I have my doubts that this is the reason the masses are afraid of turning in their pimps.
quote:
And this is not even comparable to drugs, which far more often result in physical harm being committed against others. How is legalizing prostitution any more 'protecting people from themselves' than making illegal?
I feel making it illegal is the best safeguard. I feel that everyone is kidding themselves if they think making prostitution legal will help anyone except those that do not need help in the first place. Many of these girls choose their profession and are not forced into it, these are the girls that will most likely benefit from legalizing prostitution. Not those who are victims of human trafficking or are beaten senseless by their pimps.


RE: legalize it
By zinfamous on 5/6/2009 2:56:57 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
If a pimp beats his workers now, they have nowehere to go because what they do is illegal


Union up! UAS: United American Skanks.


RE: legalize it
By Natfly on 5/6/2009 11:17:09 AM , Rating: 1
The only reason prostitution is illegal IS due to legislating morality. By legalizing and regulating it, you help to remove the victims from prostitution. It removes it from the streets where there are no rules, protection isn't used, and people are forced/fall into prostitution. Instead it moves it into businesses who pay taxes, follow regulations, and compensate the workers fairly.

The whole point of legalizing something like this isn't to make it "so it isn't wrong anymore." It's to bring it from the underbelly of society where it will continue to happen regardless of laws and put it somewhere where it can be monitored and made safer.

I'm not even going to address your comment on rape and murder other than to state how absolutely absurd it is.


RE: legalize it
By FITCamaro on 5/6/2009 12:11:39 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah because if its legalized there won't be any prostitutes operating outside the law still....


RE: legalize it
By Natfly on 5/6/2009 12:31:58 PM , Rating: 3
I didn't say their wouldn't be...


RE: legalize it
By Natfly on 5/6/2009 1:26:59 PM , Rating: 2
..their/there..


RE: legalize it
By rdeegvainl on 5/6/2009 3:07:26 PM , Rating: 2
Quick question...
How does one have prostitution illegal, while allowing the porn industry to be legal? Both are people being paid to have sex.


RE: legalize it
By mezman on 5/6/2009 3:44:08 PM , Rating: 2
I believe it has to do with who's doing the paying. The porn stars are paying each other for sexual favors. They are being paid by the production house to allow their sex acts to be filmed.

At least that's my understanding.


RE: legalize it
By clovell on 5/6/2009 11:17:51 AM , Rating: 4
Legal != Right. Ergo, legalizing something does not 'make it right'.

Prostitution may very well be more than a moral issue, but the law does not define morals - nor can it control them. If you're upset about it, launch a campaign to renew the adultery laws that most all states have repealed.

It's not a panacea (nothing ever is), but Las Vegas has seen gains from it.


RE: legalize it
By FITCamaro on 5/6/09, Rating: -1
RE: legalize it
By clovell on 5/6/2009 12:20:01 PM , Rating: 4
Christian principles also teach you that laws have little effect on morality. That's why Jesus came.


RE: legalize it
By phxfreddy on 5/6/2009 12:25:42 PM , Rating: 5
Jesus Chesus.

Atheist. Conservative.

That is me. And I still say leave Craigslist alone. Once you get the dirty hands of government into areas of personal choice you are in trouble.

Ain't our country bossed around enough by the chix already?


RE: legalize it
By clovell on 5/6/2009 12:45:44 PM , Rating: 2
Amen.


RE: legalize it
By EBH on 5/6/2009 2:02:29 PM , Rating: 3
Actually it was founded by Deists not christians. Get your facts straight.


RE: legalize it
By Donkeyshins on 5/6/2009 4:21:25 PM , Rating: 2
Sweet! Now I can get my multiple wives and slaves because those were OK in the Bible?

And FWIW, many of the principles that you assert this country was founded on (both good *and* bad) are not unique to Judao-Christian mythology.


RE: legalize it
By myhipsi on 5/6/2009 12:35:53 PM , Rating: 5
I think it's sad that you think victimless "criminals" and consenting adults should be charged with a crime for the simple act of what some people might consider immoral.

You lost your argument when you tried to compare prostitution and drug use with rape and murder. Be rational (if you can) and just think about the difference for a second. I think everybody can agree that rape and murder are among the worst crimes a person can commit. Not to mention they directly cause harm (or kill) the victim.

The reason why a lot of people cry "legalize" for these victimless crimes is because it causes more harm to society to criminalize these kinds of behaviours than it does to just leave them alone.

By making a victimless crime illegal all you do is force it underground into the black market where there are no controls (eg. drugs of dubious quality available to anyone, anywhere), no regulations (eg. prostitutes with STDs and/or getting ripped of by their pimps), no courts to backup contracts (eg. people murder or maim instead of suing in court), and the list goes on.

The reality is, the sky isn't going to fall if we suddenly legalized drugs and prostitution tomorrow. I for one wouldn't suddenly decide when I wake up tomorrow to go and get myself an eightball of coke and a hooker, as I'm sure most of the general population wouldn't either.

What people have to realize is that we live in a free society where there will always be f*ck-ups that make the rest of us look bad, but they are a tiny minority and should be treated as such. I'm all for putting away the bad guys who prey upon victims and who hurt other people (whether financially, mentally or physically) but I don't agree with locking up two consenting adults that decide to exchange money for sex or an adult who decides that instead of having a drink of Jack after work, he wants to smoke a joint instead.

A free society means just that, free. With that comes the good, the bad, and the ugly. As good intentioned as the control freaks of our society are in keeping victimless crimes illegal, their priciples are contrary to a free society, and you know what they say about good intentions, the road to hell is paved with them.


RE: legalize it
By ClownPuncher on 5/6/2009 1:25:40 PM , Rating: 2
You mean people should be responsible for their own actions, and that a nanny state is bad? If we start letting people do things that don't hurt anyone, Glen Beck will have to protect his kids from rapists!!


RE: legalize it
By ClownPuncher on 5/6/2009 1:29:40 PM , Rating: 2
And werewolf drug dealers.


RE: legalize it
By omnicronx on 5/6/2009 1:39:06 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
Be rational (if you can) and just think about the difference for a second. I think everybody can agree that rape and murder are among the worst crimes a person can commit. Not to mention they directly cause harm (or kill) the victim.
So while we are being rational, what occupation do you think leads to rape and murder, considerably more than pretty much any other occupation? Of course they are the victim in this case, but the end result is the same.


RE: legalize it
By ClownPuncher on 5/6/2009 1:42:56 PM , Rating: 2
So why would adding safeguards AGAINST that sort of thing make it worse? Burying your head in the sand just makes it easier for someone to come up behind and...well, you know.


RE: legalize it
By omnicronx on 5/6/2009 2:40:16 PM , Rating: 2
Prostitution is legal in Vegas and Amsterdam, yet girls are still raped, beaten, and killed. Pimps still exist in these places too, yet it is far harder to prosecute them, as what the girls are doing is now legal. The cops have absolutely no leverage against these girls to rat out their pimps. Half the time pimps are caught is when their girls who have been arrested for solicitation make a deal! Legalizing prostitution makes this next to impossible.

Regardless of the safeguards, human trafficking is still going to exist (and will still be a crime regardless of whether prostitution is legal or not), yet in this case, those who are actually doing something wrong will go unpunished. I feel for these girls, but I am not convinced that legalizing prostitution and making safeguards will help them. There will always be ways to circumvent these safeguards, and if anything it will make it far easier to get around the law.

Sure legalizing will help some girls, but it will also condemn others.

Furthermore one would think that making prostitution legal will increase how much it occurs. This means that more girls are likely to get hurt, and while the same percentage (or maybe slightly less) of girls will be affected, the total number of mistreated girls will likely increase.

I am not against prostitution in itself, as I said I feel for these girls, I just don't think legalizing is the best idea when everything is taken into account.


RE: legalize it
By ClownPuncher on 5/6/2009 2:55:58 PM , Rating: 2
There is no legal prostitution in Vegas. The ranches are run several miles from there, and street prostitution is still illegal, companies run these operations. Companies have to follow the laws. Traditional "Taxi Driver" style pimps do not exist in companies like these.

Pimps that beat their women and make the work environment unsafe are doing something illegal, legalizing prostitution has nothing to do with someone elses violent demeanor.

They don't have to rat out their pimp, they call OSHA on the company they work for.

The only girls that would condemn are the ones that still do it illegally on the streets, not getting a job, and not owning a business liscence.

So you're saying, since it would only help the majority of hookers, and doesn't address the ones that wan't to do it legally, we throw the whole thing out and say "if everyone can't have safety, NOBODY gets safety!"?


RE: legalize it
By ClownPuncher on 5/6/2009 3:03:45 PM , Rating: 2
last paragraph "legally" should be "illegally"


RE: legalize it
By omnicronx on 5/6/2009 3:44:24 PM , Rating: 2
Please! Illegal Prostitution is a misdemeanor in the state Nevada. I.e it is decriminalized and the closest to legal you can get. Just as many if not more illegal prostitution goes on than legal prostitution in Vegas and the surrounding areas. Prostitutes still sit and wait in Casinos, waiting and pimps surely do exist, you are kidding yourself if you think otherwise. Rules and guidelines do not work here, why would they work anywhere else.

I've been to Vegas, I've witnessed rampant illegal prostitution. I've seen first hand illegal prostitutes handing out flyers right in front of a high school. So please do not tell me it does not happen.


RE: legalize it
By ClownPuncher on 5/6/2009 4:07:41 PM , Rating: 2
I didn't say that at all. Vegas prostitution is unregulated and illegal, like you said, and it's bad, like you said. There is no legal prostitution IN VEGAS, and there is a problem IN VEGAS. This problem was far worse before the ranches were started and regulated.

Kinda helps with my point, no?

PS what were you doing with a hooker in front of a high school?


RE: legalize it
By BailoutBenny on 5/7/2009 2:59:06 PM , Rating: 2
Maybe you should stop handing out those flyers for your illegal prostitution efforts and you wouldn't get beaten up so much by your pimps.


RE: legalize it
By BansheeX on 5/6/2009 6:04:28 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Prostitution is legal in Vegas and Amsterdam, yet girls are still raped, beaten, and killed. Pimps still exist in these places too, yet it is far harder to prosecute them, as what the girls are doing is now legal.

External links and analysis to back up this absurd claim please. Why? Because it makes no freaking sense. If prostitution were legal, an employer physically abusing an employee is no different from any other business and the assailant would face major jail time. It would most definitely decrease the occurrence of such incidents because the threat of being caught and punished for doing it would then exist to deter the behavior. Pimps also stomp out competition violently, so the prosties have little leverage to quit. They are also too afraid of being arrested for a crime to report the one being committed against them. You can cut out all the useless jabber about what the cops will or won't do should they report the incident, that doesn't change the fact that the prosties are unaware of such and fearful.


RE: legalize it
By rdeegvainl on 5/6/2009 1:56:05 PM , Rating: 2
I would say military service leads to more murder victims.


RE: legalize it
By tlampen on 5/6/2009 2:17:38 PM , Rating: 1
The problem with your "opinion" is that you don't see that there are victims in your "victimless crimes." What about the prostitute that gets HIV from some guy that comes in? Do you actually think she is really going to go and get tested between every "customer"? Do you think the brothels are going test everyone that comes in? What about the illegitimate children that will have to deal with growing up most likely not knowing either of their parents? The other thing that you all forgot to ask before making comments about prostitution... what drives women to become prostitutes? I bet if you go to any school and you ask any girl if their plan for their life is to become a prostitute you would not only get no for an answer you would probably be thrown out and tried as a sex offender. Most prostitutes are where they are at because of broken homes, drugs, lost sense of hope and desperation. You all are right in that we will never remove this from our society but maybe instead of investing all this time and effort into finding ways to profit from someone’s misfortune and write it off that it benefits many people. Maybe we can spend our resources on trying to find ways to help women who are down and out and just need a helping hand to get out of the mess they are in. If we legalize prostitution we are giving up on them. I brought up rape and murder because what has happened in America is desensitization. People are becoming desensitized to their world around them and not caring what they believe in anymore. They are taking the stance “If it doesn’t affect me let it go!”


RE: legalize it
By ClownPuncher on 5/6/2009 2:26:33 PM , Rating: 2
People have sex, get over it.


RE: legalize it
By clovell on 5/6/2009 2:30:35 PM , Rating: 2
The current system does nothing but force prostitutes undergound as criminals and create more victims - it does nothing to help these women. The roots of the objectification of women run far deeper than this. Legalizing prostitution will not solve these problems any more than keeping it illegal has. But, it will go some way towards removing stigma and offering legal recourse to those involved.

Don't get me wrong - I don't like prostitution. I can't ever feature paying for sex, and when I think about women who do it, it makes me sick in a few different ways. I just don't think it will tear apart the fabric of society if it were legalized and regulated.


RE: legalize it
By tlampen on 5/6/2009 4:11:25 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
The current system does nothing but force prostitutes undergound as criminals and create more victims - it does nothing to help these women

Agreed 100%, I am not arguing that the current system is working. I am only arguing that legalizing problems will only make things worse for things to come. Children will learn from society and parents that if you can’t fix a problem, the only way to deal with it is for them to change their outlook on the problem and it will go away. Yes, it is up to the parents to teach their children but as more and more parents become desensitized into this rationality the more and more children will to. It is a slow spiral downward.
quote:
Don't get me wrong - I don't like prostitution. I can't ever feature paying for sex, and when I think about women who do it, it makes me sick in a few different ways. I just don't think it will tear apart the fabric of society if it were legalized and regulated.


The problem here is that there are so many people on the sidelines, like you, who are techincally against an issue but won't voice their opinion. They have been trained that if you speak up, you will offend someone or not be apart of the norm. I ask, where will you draw your line before you do speak up? Will it be to late? Your right that THIS issue will not tear apart the fabric of society but it will make a small cut which is where tears begin.


RE: legalize it
By ClownPuncher on 5/6/2009 3:07:57 PM , Rating: 1
Why would anyone have unprotected sex with a hooker anyway? Reap what you sow there.


RE: legalize it
By rdeegvainl on 5/6/2009 3:26:03 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
You all are right in that we will never remove this from our society but maybe instead of investing all this time and effort into finding ways to profit from someone’s misfortune and write it off that it benefits many people. Maybe we can spend our resources on trying to find ways to help women who are down and out and just need a helping hand to get out of the mess they are in.


You mean like putting them in jail?

quote:
If we legalize prostitution we are giving up on them.

If we jail them, we are giving up on them.

quote:
I brought up rape and murder because what has happened in America is desensitization. People are becoming desensitized to their world around them and not caring what they believe in anymore.


Muder and Rape are completely different. And who says these people believed to begin with?

quote:
They are taking the stance “If it doesn’t affect me let it go!


They are taking the stance that the government should involve itself the least it can in personal decisions.


RE: legalize it
By tlampen on 5/6/2009 3:51:26 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
You mean like putting them in jail?


NO! Quite looking at the problem after it has become a problem and find a way to stop the problem from ever happening. Stop next years prostitutes from ever happening.

quote:
If we jail them, we are giving up on them.

Agreed, rehabilitation is a better alternative. For the current problem.

quote:
Muder and Rape are completely different. And who says these people believed to begin with?


Let me put it a different way. Currently All rape and Murder is bad most everyone agrees with that. What I am saying is that eventually because we are becoming more and more desensitized. Rape and Murder will become less and less of an issue. Sure mass murder might never become "ok" but gang murders might start becoming "a little ok" then it will be a little more acceptable and so on. This is happening right now in other countries around the world. Kids becoming so desensitized with gang wars that when you ask if they have ever had a family member killed by gun fire they laugh like you are crazy for even asking. It IS the same it is just at a different level.

quote:
They are taking the stance that the government should involve itself the least it can in personal decisions.


Your saying that legalizing prostitution and REGULATING it, Government is really removing itself from the equation as much as possible? You have a Null Point. either way Government will be equally in the equation.


RE: legalize it
By rdeegvainl on 5/6/2009 4:15:25 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Stop next years prostitutes from ever happening.

Why don't they have a right to choose that lifestyle?

quote:
What I am saying is that eventually because we are becoming more and more desensitized. Rape and Murder will become less and less of an issue. Sure mass murder might never become "ok" but gang murders might start becoming "a little ok" then it will be a little more acceptable and so on.


Rape and murder will not become OK, for the simple fact that people have self interests. They don't want to be raped, and they don't want to be murdered. These are things that are illegal because they are forced on the victims. Prostitution isn't forcing anything on anyone.

quote:
Your saying that legalizing prostitution and REGULATING it, Government is really removing itself from the equation as much as possible? You have a Null Point. either way Government will be equally in the equation.


Regulating prostitution also makes the "dangers" argument against prostitution a null point. The difference in my mind is that regulation is about protecting the customers, and the criminalization is just about controlling morality. But I do believe Government protecting both the rights of the Prostitute, and the safety of the customer is the best option, as opposed to the current criminalization of it, whereby there are no safeguards that can be put in place.

Though I have 2 questions for you.
1. What is wrong with prostitution that it should be made illegal? Keep in mind that religious morals aren't valid since religion is a choice.
2. Why is it ok to have an adult industry where people are payed to have sex, and not prostitution, which by definition is sex for money?


RE: legalize it
By ClownPuncher on 5/6/2009 4:18:39 PM , Rating: 2
Sorry dude, rape and murder will never be OK. You refer to war torn african countries with child soldiers, I assume, do I need to tell you how vastly different our societies are?


RE: legalize it
By Looey on 5/6/2009 8:01:46 PM , Rating: 2
How would you feel finding your mother, sister, wife or girl friend in a legalized prostitution house? Legalized prostitution sounds good until you find one of your loved ones bringing in the dough after laying on her back for eight hours underneath all kinds of filth getting fluid exchanges from anyone and everyone. Legalizing prostition reminds me of the way the British weakened China by getting them to smoke drugs all day. The Chines took some extreme measures to end the practice.


RE: legalize it
By rdeegvainl on 5/7/2009 7:28:15 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
How would you feel finding your mother, sister, wife or girl friend in a legalized prostitution house?

If you can't handle your wife or girl friend being a hooker, don't be with them, as for the sister and mother, it doesn't matter how I feel about their decision, cause it would be their choice.


RE: legalize it
By rdeegvainl on 5/6/2009 1:30:41 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
I think it is sad that everyones answer to everything is "legalize it" so it isn't wrong anymore.

So what was wrong with it to begin with?


RE: legalize it
By Chiisuchianu on 5/6/2009 1:57:08 PM , Rating: 2
Is this the liberal solution to everything? People do drugs, so legalize them. People prostitute, so legalize it. Kids have sex, so give them condoms.

Oh please. There are much better things you can do. Like for one, you can set up a bunch of fake prostitution ads and arrest everyone who goes for them. Word will go around that this is happening and people will be scared to do it.


RE: legalize it
By rdeegvainl on 5/6/2009 2:03:10 PM , Rating: 2
Nice of you to label something to easily throw it away.


RE: legalize it
By clovell on 5/6/2009 2:18:30 PM , Rating: 2
What you're describing is entrapment, and it won't work without demo'ing the last standing legal foundations that protect this country from sliding into despotism.

Drugs, Prostitution, and Birth Control are all separate issues with separate arguments both for and against that fall across party lines.


RE: legalize it
By Steve1981 on 5/6/2009 2:36:27 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
What you're describing is entrapment


Negative.

http://www.lectlaw.com/def/e024.htm

"ENTRAPMENT - A person is 'entrapped' when he is induced or persuaded by law enforcement officers or their agents to commit a crime that he had no previous intent to commit; and the law as a matter of policy forbids conviction in such a case."

If you're cruising craigslist for hookers, odds are you have intent to commit a crime.


RE: legalize it
By Verran on 5/7/2009 9:08:08 AM , Rating: 2
"If God wanted women to be able to be prostitutes, he would have given them free will and a vagina."

--Doug Stanhope


Closing down the erotic part...
By Marlin1975 on 5/6/2009 8:42:36 AM , Rating: 1
would just have all the whores post their ads in the dating and/or other sections.

There is enough junk to go through without this being on other parts. At least with it in its own group I can ignore it and use the parts i want.

That and by having an erotic part it makes it much easier for police to catch the whores if that was their intent.

After this story I went to the erotic section for DC and the ads were not even trying to hide what was going on. It has rates and all. So if the police really wanted to shut it down it would be easy. This just screams political grandstanding to me.




RE: Closing down the erotic part...
By Maharajamd on 5/6/2009 8:51:26 AM , Rating: 2
Craigslist content is user submitted. At what point is this Craigslists fault or the users? They have measures in place to 'flag' this kind of activity, but it doesn't work 100% nor is it an instant process. But they try.


RE: Closing down the erotic part...
By bohrd on 5/6/2009 9:06:26 AM , Rating: 1
This is very similar to P2P sharing of music/movies. Sites may claim that they have no control, and for some that may be true. But if you build a house, make sure you know what goes on inside.

I would think there are enough scripts out there that could filter out much of the illegal erotic content so that Craigslist wouldn't have to rely on people to do that kind of work.


RE: Closing down the erotic part...
By omnicronx on 5/6/2009 10:35:15 AM , Rating: 2
I can't understand why the owner thinks he cannot be held liable, for all intents and purposes craiglist is a private for profit site. It does not really matter if they do not make an actual profit, they have add revenue, and they charge users for job postings in certain areas.

That being said, I am siding with craigslist on this one. If these adds were exclusive to craigslist, then perhaps they could be held liable, but the adds found on craigslist are pretty much the same as what you will find in your local newspapers, or even the yellow pages. You cannot enforce something on them, that is not widely enforced elsewhere. They also actively take down many adds when they are flagged by its users, as the article describes.


RE: Closing down the erotic part...
By Souka on 5/6/2009 12:05:44 PM , Rating: 2
It's craigslist fault for not having an EULA when browsing the erotic section.

"[] check the box to the left if you are not a murderer, or not seeking to become one."

YEah.. it was completely Craigslist's fault for the murder... totally.

*if you hadn't noticed..this is sarcasam..."


By omnicronx on 5/6/2009 12:38:27 PM , Rating: 1
I was talking about this:
quote:
Even though Buckmaster previously said its company can't be held accountable for the content its users post on the site
Obviously they are not liable for murder, furthermore if you actually read my post, in this situation I agree with them.

When it comes down to it, craigslist is no different than your local classifieds, no special exceptions apply to them because they are an online site. They choose not to screen their posts and that is up to them, but to think they are not liable because 'anyone' can post is plain naive. They should get no special treatment because their business model relies on being able to post for free, and because craigslist chooses not to screen its adds. Obviously this is just not possible to screen all their adds, but whose problem is that? If they cannot legally operate under this model, that is nobodies fault but their own. craigslist should be forced to conform to anything your local classifieds or yellowpages are forced to do, plain and simple.

But.. as I said before, the 'erotic' section in question does not really differ from what local classifieds and yellowpages have been printing for years (i.e they are not getting special treatement), and they would very much so have a valid defense.


By safcman84 on 5/6/2009 9:14:18 AM , Rating: 3
quote:
That and by having an erotic part it makes it much easier for police to catch the whores if that was their intent.


QFT


By zixin on 5/6/2009 9:36:12 AM , Rating: 2
I mean seriously, what do people think "Erotic Service" means? If law enforcement really wants to crack down on prostitution all they need to do is google "escort." This is what people don't understand. When you make something illegal it just means the crimnials are going to take over instead of legitimate business. Haven't we learned anything from the era of Prohibition?




By xti on 5/6/2009 11:05:14 AM , Rating: 2
and when you make it legal, you agree on a set of rules to define the legal bounds.

and then you inherit a huge manpower hungry responsibility to enforce everything that was just agreed upon. Yeah, prohibition, but we cant control drinking and driving...and not that law enforcement orgs are not doing their job, its just a ridiculously huge task that is always an uphill struggle.


By maverick85wd on 5/6/2009 11:22:12 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Yeah, prohibition, but we cant control drinking and driving


I think his point was valid. Drinking and Driving is a separate situation because you're not just hurting yourself, you're directly endangering the lives of other people on the road. In cases like that, they need to make the rules even tougher for violators. In most cases, that's exactly what's happening. 10 years ago in Michigan a (first time offender) drunk driver would probably face fines, have to take a driving class, maybe got to a few AA meetings. Now it's almost automatically loss of your driver license for a year. In North Carolina it's automatic suspension for one year as well. A lot of people, from what I've seen, have caught on to this and have stopped. There are still those that do it, but there probably always will be.


By xti on 5/6/2009 2:08:20 PM , Rating: 2
so....legalize prostituion...and then they spread stuff around. now they are directly hurting others. and it would be as uncontrolled as drinking and driving.


By Steve1981 on 5/6/2009 3:27:00 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
and then they spread stuff around. now they are directly hurting others.


No more than promiscuous types legally do already.

Frankly, if you boink a hooker, or anybody else for that matter, you take a risk of being directly harmed via STDs. Of course, there are ways of mitigating that risk: just not seeing hookers and having sex with lots of random people, using condoms, etc. If you contract AIDs directly because of a hooker, I have no real pity for you.

I would feel sorry for those that are hurt indirectly from reckless indiscretions: the spouses and girlfriends of the johns that see the hookers. However, I have my doubts that the guys in question are saints without legal prostitution.


By Dfere on 5/6/2009 1:01:58 PM , Rating: 2
One of the biggest arguments professed by proponents of legalizing prostitution is the violent crime against the prostitutes. (For me it's the tax revenue lost, this second).

But put a flashy spin on this age old problem ("Cybercrime", or "Cyberpredator" or even better "Cyber Stalker") and any attorney general thinks he can now run for president..... after all he defended us against violent predators we might come across in the safety of our homes......

What rubbish. How about we punish everyone involved until it becomes legitimized?




By Dfere on 5/6/2009 1:06:43 PM , Rating: 2
Oops. I also meant to say it was their job in the first place to prosecute the prostitution that opened an opportunity to the theft and murder.

Instead of enforcing laws, or bringing this industry into the light, we have created this murky, socially quietly acceptable policy, and now someone who wasn't enforcing the law and doing his job is trying to capitalize off of it.


The real conspiracy is
By Lord 666 on 5/6/2009 9:05:53 AM , Rating: 3
The government wants to get involved so politicians have easier access to these types of services. Senator Craig, Spitzer, and John Edwards along with countless others would just need Internet access to access.




End of free speech on internet
By phxfreddy on 5/6/2009 12:23:02 PM , Rating: 1
The simple fact is that if these governmental types are successful at changing CraigsList we are all in big trouble.

They do not stop screwing with anything once they start.

You can not require testing for STD .... you can not require this and that and the other thing because every damned Tom, Dick and Harry will hold out for their pet tax.

Its really depressing to have to explain this to people who should already have enough sense to figure it all out themselves.

Welcome to American....Nation in Decline.




By jasper2008 on 5/6/2009 12:54:54 PM , Rating: 2
I totally agree with you.

What if a terror attack is coordinated via mobile phones, should the phone company be prosecuted because they don't screen the conversation and report the attact?


Not Good
By bubbastrangelove on 5/6/2009 3:36:12 PM , Rating: 2
One more step by an over-intrusive government preventing Darwinism from doing it's job.

Why can't they ignore this like they do illegal immigration, corporate fraud or raping of the middle class?




This isnt about prostitution
By stilltrying on 5/6/2009 4:30:40 PM , Rating: 2
its about people selling whatever they want to other people without the state or FEDS getting any cut of the action. no taxes when its classifieds. another dupe job on the public about prostitution.

ITS ABOUT TAXES AND PEOPLE AVOIDING THEM THROUGH CLASSIFIED SALES




"Vista runs on Atom ... It's just no one uses it". -- Intel CEO Paul Otellini









botimage
Copyright 2010 DailyTech LLC. - RSS Feed | Advertise | About Us | Ethics | FAQ | Terms, Conditions & Privacy Information | Kristopher Kubicki