We need more sites like HN and Craigslist. primarily text based but fully functional. And most importantly no ads.
Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years
51–60 of 335 posts
Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years
#52* 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…
>Craigslist is a desert, a void, an oasis of empty search results. it's a desert and an oasis at the same time?
"Oasis of Empty"
Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years
#53* 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…
Related, so many sellers are now “pro” sellers like what happened to eBay. Keyword stuffing, prices that are comparable to sale prices of new, constant automated reposting, etc.
Right, which is great: because CL forces folks to say whether they're a private owner or a dealer you can filter for those properties.
And not hidden and tucked away either: it's the absolutely very first top-most set of options on the search results page. See those three [all] [owner] [dealer] buttons? Click "owner". You're welcome.
Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
Can you provide a concrete example? IME any online platform is going to be a staircase into the bowels of human nature. It's all about being aware you need to protect yourself online. If you're encountering things like child porn or prostitution, or anything illegal really, it's your responsibility to at least report it.
> Can you provide a concrete example?
Sure. I spent a few weeks looking for an Xbox Series X, and I don't believe that I'm exaggerating when I say that 90%+ of the listings were scams. For about half of those, the scammers just weren't very good, and automated or semi-automated checks should've flagged those listings before anyone saw them. The other half were various scams documented in thousands of articles by a cottage industry created in lieu of anti-abuse measures.
> IME any online platform is going to be a staircase into the bowels of human nature.
Granted, but some bowels are cleaner than others. Craigslist clearly does not get enough fiber in its diet.
> If you're encountering things like child porn or prostitution, or anything illegal really, it's your responsibility to at least report it.
I did, of course, but I got tired of working for Craigslist for free after a while.
Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
As I noted above, not as much of a problem here in LA, but I totally believe you that it's true elsewhere. And honestly, I'm probably missing some great stuff not perusing FB and OfferUp. But there's one simple, guiding principle that I'm always following. And that's refusing to reactivate my FB account.
Much like 25 years ago when I said to myself, "there's nothing on the internet that I need to see so badly that I'll install RealNetworks", I'll put stuff on the curb with a "free" sign before I'll reactivate my long-deactivated FB account (or buy new, depending on the direction of the transaction).
Honestly, especially for bulky stuff, I’ve had great luck leaving things at the end of my driveway with a free sign. I wouldn’t get much money for them and they’re out of my house with almost zero effort.
Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years
#56Craigslist 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.
I feel like there is a risk of sabotage through complacency and a refusal to adapt to competition. People looking for rentals and homes to buy don't go to craigslist first, they do to sites like Zillow and Redfin. As I've mentioned in a different response, the spam and junk listings are a persistent problem and none of the spam seems particularly sophisticated or hard to stop - most are literally the same image and content with a ton of tags posted under different categories.
Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years
#57Cos it ain't broke and the people running it are a very rare breed who know better than to fix it. Same with McMaster Carr website and a very few others
Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years
#58An aged but still relevant article - "Increase your conversion rate by making your site ugly" is a good parallel read particularly with regard to accessibility https://www.conversionvoodoo.com/blog/2010/04/increase-your-...
Thank you for posting this gem. I really enjoyed it.
For anyone wondering, there's a previous discussion on this article on HN[1]
Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years
#59Not to be “that guy,” but Craigslist has changed a lot over the years. They’ve kept the same coat of paint on it (visual design) but the way it works evolves continuously.
For one obvious example, search results come up in cards now by default and you can use hover arrows to go through the photos on each one. It is far more visual experience today than it was when search results were a compact list of text titles.
And depending on what you search, there are tons of specific filters that show up in the left column. Search “sailboat” and you can filter on make/model, propulsion, length overall, year manufactured, price, miles from location, etc. It works a lot more like eBay or other modern e-commerce sites than the blue links and default fonts let on.
Keeping the old fonts and colors seems sort of like the famous door-desks at Amazon. It looks like a functional decision, but really the main point is to represent a particular viewpoint of the job.
Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years
#60* 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…
>Craigslist is a desert, a void, an oasis of empty search results. it's a desert and an oasis at the same time?
I get that you're saying the metaphor is strained, but in point of fact, oases are parts of deserts, no?