My Craigslist Confession

It's more important to me that craigslist remains an open, safe place for people to meet each other without cost - than anything else out there. CL has helped me out in all kinds of ways - so, when I'm around in CL - please understand that I am one of those few people who really is qualified to be a systems admin - and I take my job seriously in giving back to the net what I take.

My daughter is growing up the same way. She doesn't just sit around and download youtube clips. For every hour she watches she creates content equal to that hour. This is the way the internet is supposed to work. She is shipping DVD's of her films off to others to source collaborate with her on her latest work.

I detest the concept that companies exist to try to make you pay them so that you can meet someone and fall in love. We already have suburbia, with its designed zoning to keep you from walking to where you want to go - entire cities sprawled out on the edge of mall megaplexes. Community is rare enough as it is. Maybe thats why the film "Moon" struck such a chord with me. How much different is it, to be completely isolated? How much can a modern corporation get away with - if we allow this?

So. Just bear in mind. I am out there to do a job. Half the time I'm serious. The other half the time I'm drinking coffee and laughing at the spammers. I posted an ad there, and got seven responses. I have carefully collected the fake responses. Once I figure out where the scripts are running and in particular who is paying to keep them going - we win the game . Fun fact: Affiliate marketers pay bounty for people trying to rip them off. It's blood sport.

There's always the odd one or two posts out there that really catch your eye. And I suppose, like anyone, I can be taken off track. But I have this unflagging confidence that God's design is that we're supposed to be able to meet each other and laugh and live and learn and not have to go through alot of hoops to have a community , a neighborhood and a gang of people to which we belong.

Craigslist to me, is kind of like that street corner where everyone hangs out. Maybe the place in your neighborhood where people go to meet. And it works. For me, at least. And I tend to see our society as kind of pre-democratic society where the laws have not yet extended to protect your privacy. Similiar to the days before the fourth amendment, in the United States of America - when armies could march into town and you would have three soldiers stationed in your downstairs living room and there was nothing you could do about it.

Maybe one day the fourth amendment will get an update. Peace.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Are you hacking the 'spammers' computers?

Can you hack mine from this comment?
Every good network admin is good at a couple of things - my technique that works best is a technique called honey


What I like to do is to translate my identity into one of nearly 300 different identities and then approach the spammer from a place they won't know.

What you leave here on the comment is just your IP address if I want to see it. But there's no point in tracking a person from a comment.

Spammers are people you can get money for if you turn in - they usually draw a bounty. They're people who are almost always cheating an affiliate program, sometimes out of tens of thousands of dollars.

A colorless green reader? Maybe not so much so.

Why. Worried that you're not anonymous?
Anonymous said…
Are any of us anonymous? Are you?

I am curios about why you offer your readers the right to comment and then delete them when they are not to your liking?
Anonymous said…
Craigslist has been and interesting journey for me. I met you there and you were odd but nice enough. Then you were cruel and I moved on. I read your blog mostly because there are days at work when I am bored.

I did meet a very nice man on craigslist. I am very suprised that I did because really, to be honest, did not think I ever would. I think I met the one I am to be with but if for some reason it doesn't work out that way I do not think I will be looking to craiglist for my so called "soul mate". It's just to frusterating. I guess you never know.

I also don't think I would pay a dating site either or maybe I would if it would weed out alot of what I see on CL. Might be worth it.
BritishBetty said…
...wow, another one burned.

I would say that CL is what it is, if you can accept it for the bs, spam, and timewasters then you can have limited success with it.

I had success, I met someone wonderful...so, it didn't work out, but he will always have a place in my heart (and my bed, if he should so choose down the road that he made a huge mistake).

I read...not out of boredom, but because in some strange way it connects me to you...maybe I am a cyber stalker!

BTW...Congratulations on the birth of your nephew, best wishes to your family on their new arrival.
I don't generally delete comments. My problem is usually more that I post so fast, I blogstomp readers + they don't have time to post comments.

Anyway, to answer the question that I understood. Yes. Alot of us are anonymous. There are ways of tracing people - but you would have to pay me to do it.

And you can't afford me :)