Why hasn't HN design changed in last 15 years ... because it works.
Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years
21–30 of 335 posts
Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
Man, just 10 people working there, couldn't have done that with vc backed funding. Have to grow, then have to add people to grow, then have to add features to try to pay for the people. But man, if you think about every $25 car/apartment/job post, it's plenty of money for 10 people. Pretty insane.
He said "in the 10s", so I guess it could be up to a couple hundred. Still, a remarkably small number for a business like that.
I think “in the 10s” means less than a hundred. Probably not close to a hundred as well in this instance.
Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years
#23* I far, far, far prefer Craigslist interface to anything else in that space. It's clear and focused Its search engine too - I get things I search for in the area I search for. For me, Kijiji and Facebook marketplace are awful UI, awful distractions, and give me 10,000 "suggested" or "fuzzy searched" things in random order, suppressing things I'm actually looking for. And I've completely given up on eBay over last de…
Facebook Marketplace seems to have all but killed it, here. You have to check Facebook anyway because schools, HOAs, businesses, even local governments often treat it as their primary outlet for information, as in, stuff gets posted there first, and sometimes only there. Though IG is taking over some of that (but of course that's still Facebook) Luckily my wife does that, so I can get away without having an account,…
I don't know why anyone would want to attach their name and everything to stuff they are selling.
Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years
#24I rent a couple of properties out in the bay area and up until this year I've always relied on craigslist to get new tenants, but this year we tried out Zillow and we got tons of applicants, and the whole application process including vetting and setting up a lease and everything was done through Zillow. On the other hand someone noticed our Zillow listing and created a fraudulent listing of my property on Craigslist. I'm pretty much never going back to Craigslist. Apartments.com is also good for creating leases and managing properties, but Zillow seems to be the place to get high quality tenants.
Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years
#25* I far, far, far prefer Craigslist interface to anything else in that space. It's clear and focused Its search engine too - I get things I search for in the area I search for. For me, Kijiji and Facebook marketplace are awful UI, awful distractions, and give me 10,000 "suggested" or "fuzzy searched" things in random order, suppressing things I'm actually looking for. And I've completely given up on eBay over last de…
CL is still alive and well here in LA. It's possible it's just in the markets I'm looking in (tools, machinery, cars, etc), but I've always preferred it over things like FB, OfferUp etc. I feel like the people I meet from CL are generally much more knowledgeable about what they have and its value. Other platforms often feel like a relative selling grandpa's stuff and have done the bare minimum of research to find a price point. Usually if someone on CL lacks knowledge, it means I'm getting a great deal that day rather than waiting for them to realize they're asking too much in a small market.
Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years
#26* I far, far, far prefer Craigslist interface to anything else in that space. It's clear and focused Its search engine too - I get things I search for in the area I search for. For me, Kijiji and Facebook marketplace are awful UI, awful distractions, and give me 10,000 "suggested" or "fuzzy searched" things in random order, suppressing things I'm actually looking for. And I've completely given up on eBay over last de…
Facebook Marketplace seems to have all but killed it, here. You have to check Facebook anyway because schools, HOAs, businesses, even local governments often treat it as their primary outlet for information, as in, stuff gets posted there first, and sometimes only there. Though IG is taking over some of that (but of course that's still Facebook) Luckily my wife does that, so I can get away without having an account,…
I think the reason people use marketplace is because they already have a facebook app on their phone. One less password to remember. The upload "just works" - never mind that the data is poorly tagged, etc.
Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years
#27* I far, far, far prefer Craigslist interface to anything else in that space. It's clear and focused Its search engine too - I get things I search for in the area I search for. For me, Kijiji and Facebook marketplace are awful UI, awful distractions, and give me 10,000 "suggested" or "fuzzy searched" things in random order, suppressing things I'm actually looking for. And I've completely given up on eBay over last de…
A local media company runs a "classifieds" on their online site. It dominates locally. Craigslist has been worthless for ages here because of it. However, Facebook Marketplace seems to be slowly gaining traction. Which I hate for all the reasons you mention. I dread the day it takes over :(
I'm curious where you live. After all, craigslist famously decimated classified advertising in the US, primarily because classified ads in newspapers are hella expensive, and craigslist is usually free.
Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years
#28My problem with Craigslist isn't that it looks old, the problem is that they seemingly refuse to modernize anything else about the site. Craigslist is chock full of spam and people abusing the search feature. I'm no anti-spam guru, but surely there is a way to cut down on people submitting the same thumbnail dozens of times using as many keywords as they can so their cellphone screen repair service shows up when look…
A recent experience trying to find something on Craigslist was shocking. As much as its UI is frozen in time, so are its anti-abuse measures.
I have no doubt that lots of people are getting hurt using Craigslist. I would never recommend it to friends or family.
Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years
#29I would say because it is a tool, and tools should stay relatively the same. It's ok to make a new tool!
I have this discussion with people who make physical objects all the time, and their frustrations with the software world. Imagine learning to use a Heidelberg offset press 20y ago, and if you enter your workshop, it performs the same as before. Now imagine you are a painter who uses photoshop elements once in awhile. For some reason, your printer is printing all your pictures with a red tinge. You buy a new version of photoshop elements, and the problem is gone. The moving targets of saas and other remote updated software changes the perspective on tools, especially for production purposes. Many people who produce physical objects with software run into these problems. I fix up motorcycles in my spare time, and I dread the day my torque wrench needs an update!
Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years
#30Craigslist is one of my favorite tech companies. They have a fantastic product which they don't sabotage in the interest of growth. Huge respect to them for quietly being the best.