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Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years

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Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years

#151

Post by acchow »

defterGoose wrote: post #25
NikolaNovak wrote: post #3

* 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 p…

Try to find a used computer or phone or really any other electronic. FB Marketplace has 5x the inventory.

Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years

#152

Post by ddejohn »

ravenstine wrote: post #132

People use (or at least used ) Craigslist because they like it when websites and apps actually work. I never encountered bugs or bizarre UI problems when using Craigslist. It turns out the only people who care about flashy animations, fancy drop shadows, "native" looking UI elements, Material/Human design principles, etc., are developers and designers. Normal people only care about those things when functionality is…

Not disagreeing at all. I get irrationally angry when a website shits the bed because of flashy UI BS.

One thing I will say is that I personally appreciate "modern" UIs (when they work) because I have ADHD and the visual clutter of "old fashioned" websites is a serious problem for me. I have old reddit set to 200% magnification just to keep the amount of content on the screen to a minimum, and to minimize the width of lines of text.

Again though, I do still prefer snappy and functional over 'elegant' and sluggish, even if it's more difficult for me to focus.

Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years

#153

Post by pavon »

spookthesunset wrote: post #119
SL61 wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Craigslist is basically unusable in my area if you're selling something. 90%+ of the people who respond to you will express interest, chat about the item, set up a time to meet, and then no-show and ghost you. I don't know what they're getting out of it. It's not worth the time for me to go through 5-6 of those people for everything I want to sell. Maybe Facebook, etc., have this problem too, but I gave up on selling…

Dunno why the downvotes when this is something I experience too.

Yeah. All of my posts have some flake that is stringing me on but can't set a time to meet. Nearly a quarter of scheduled meets end in no shows. One was after I drove 30 miles to meet someone halfway. I won't meet more than 5 minutes out of my way after that - you want the item you can come get it.

Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years

#154

Post by iudqnolq »

spoils19 wrote: post #66
snowwrestler wrote: post #59

Not 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. An…

That sounds like a regression to me. A more visual experience isn't necessarily better - I and most people on this site probably prefer the compact list of text titles, since the information is easier to parse. Filtering also limits search, not enhances it, as you are prevented from generically finding things, and now have to sort by filter.

One of the defining characteristics of filters is that, unlike categories, you can just not select any if you want to see everything. This is true on craigslist, ebay, and every other website I can think of that has filtered product listings.

Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years

#155

Post by scelerat »

Craigslist to me, beyond something I still use regularly to hunt for musical instruments, electronics, bikes, furniture, garage sales, etc, is an enduring shibboleth when it comes to "design."

When someone says "Craigslist design sucks," I can probably guess how that person thinks about design and what it means to them.

IMO Craigslist has survived as long as it has, in spite of no promotion, no advertising, no partner deals, no api integrations, yadda yadda, precisely because it is designed very well for its purpose and its users. I would never claim that CL is the most aesthetically pleasing site to look at, but when it comes to posting, searching and browsing classified ads (and even participating in its message boards), it does the job quite well and with minimum hassle.

For the first three weeks after I moved to San Francisco, more than sixteen years ago, I couch surfed at my boss's place on Stanyan street in Cole Valley. At the time, Craig also lived nearby. My boss and he were friends and would frequently meet at a coffee shop, and I would often join them. When I was first introduced to Craig, I quipped that I had recently moved, and did he know a good place to search for apartments? He gave me a gentle smirk and a merely mildly condescending roll of the eyes. Very pleasant, intelligent, and unassuming person.

Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years

#156

Post by lkrubner »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #115
hedora wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In fairness, the only valid complaint I've heard about Craigslist is that it diverted classified ad revenue away from reporters, destroying local newspapers, and then local elections. With Craigslist, this always felt like an unintended consequence. With facebook, it seems like one of their top ten strategies for getting us to devolve into mineshaft dwelling mole people that live in the metaverse.

Blaming technology for obviating business models is not a valid complaint. In this case, I would say the participants of the local society are responsible for paying for journalism and working to support local elections. But even then, you could come up with arguments such as so and so population was too poor and had to work two jobs and did not have time to attend city/county/state meetings, or were not sufficiently…

You write “Blaming technology” in response to a comment that does not mention any technologies. You might want to examine what your preconceptions are, that you would see “technology” in a comment that does not refer to technology. You were responding to a comment that describes two business strategies, perhaps you should respond to that.

Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years

#157

Post by SN76477 »

NikolaNovak wrote: post #3

* 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…

Did you find the results you were looking for?

*Would you like to see results for Books, Used, Sorted by publisher instead?

*Often purchased together with ___ + ___ + ___

Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years

#158

Post by reaperducer »

frankharv wrote: post #17
BitwiseFool wrote: post #7

My 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…

I love it and I despise the fact that they pulled down personal ads. It was like a virtual clipboard in the laundromat. Then the feds came and kicked in the doors.

It was like a virtual clipboard in the laundromat.

The corkboard is still there. If you start using it again, others will. Same way CL, FBM, and the others got traction.

Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years

#159

Post by Solvitieg »

BitwiseFool wrote: post #7

My 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…

It's fair to point out that Youtube and Twitter have spam problems and apparently can't solve it either. I don't think it's trivial.

Re: Why Craigslist still looks the same after 25 years

#160

Post by [deleted] »

jstarfish wrote: post #79
tomcam wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for sharing. I’m about to rent out a house so this helps a lot. One thing I don’t get is why someone else would copy your listing? Do they somehow get a slice of the pie if a respondent rents?

> One thing I don’t get is why someone else would copy your listing? Do they somehow get a slice of the pie if a respondent rents? Usually this is a scam. You advertise someone else's vacant property, break in to conduct tenant tours, collect fees/deposits/first month's rent, then bail.

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