31–40 of 51 posts
The conversation here reminds me of the discussions last week around Microsoft Excel: Craigslist is a tool that techies seem to universally deplore, but every non-techie I know uses it regularly and without much complaint.
(Not every techie is a web design aficionado.)
The conversation here reminds me of the discussions last week around Microsoft Excel: Craigslist is a tool that techies seem to universally deplore, but every non-techie I know uses it regularly and without much complaint.
This is a strawman argument. The truth, as always, is inconveniently somewhere in the middle. Plenty of techies love and use these tools, and lots of non-techies hate their very existence.
Even if the black-and-white picture you paint were true, it's a good thing to have people unhappy with the status quo. Otherwise we wouldn't have things like Airbnb.
I've long considered CL one of the biggest tragedies of the internet age. The problem is it's just good enough to prevent competitors from gaining critical mass, but it's not good enough to consistently do an adequate job. There's a huge pent-up demand for what CL provides, including local person-to-person commerce, sublets, apartment hunting, job hunting etc. I probably use CL about 2-3 times a year, and I end up re…
In your opinion, what job is it that CL fails to address adequately in a consistent fashion? Ignore the real identity / account reputation issue, which nobody has managed to solve in an adequate fashion. What is it that CL promises, that it fails to follow through on?
Craigslist only recently added maps, seemingly because padmapper was so useful that craigslist had no choice but to momentarily wake up from its 10 year coma and actually improve the site for once.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In your opinion, what job is it that CL fails to address adequately in a consistent fashion? Ignore the real identity / account reputation issue, which nobody has managed to solve in an adequate fashion. What is it that CL promises, that it fails to follow through on?
Um, OK. How about the fact that apartment listings in NYC are basically 95% spam, with brokers advertising apartments that don't exist, to pull a bait and switch when you call -- including on the specifically non-broker pages? Searching by price is broken (look for $500 listings and it will return $500 daily, $500 weekly, $500 monthly, all mixed up together). Searching by neighborhood is broken, since it relies on ke…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Um, OK. How about the fact that apartment listings in NYC are basically 95% spam, with brokers advertising apartments that don't exist, to pull a bait and switch when you call -- including on the specifically non-broker pages? Searching by price is broken (look for $500 listings and it will return $500 daily, $500 weekly, $500 monthly, all mixed up together). Searching by neighborhood is broken, since it relies on ke…
"(I understand it's better outside of NYC, but since NYC is the largest city in the US, that doesn't really matter.)" I always think it's funny that the most cosmopolitan cities can breed the most parochial attitudes.
I've long considered CL one of the biggest tragedies of the internet age. The problem is it's just good enough to prevent competitors from gaining critical mass, but it's not good enough to consistently do an adequate job. There's a huge pent-up demand for what CL provides, including local person-to-person commerce, sublets, apartment hunting, job hunting etc. I probably use CL about 2-3 times a year, and I end up re…
Agreed. Craigslist masquerades as some kind of pseudo non-profit (".org") like it's doing the world a favor being a barebones piece of crap. But the reality is that it's an entrenched monopoly squatting on a huge piece of economic land and letting it languish. There are so many features and services that could be useful in this space that just aren't getting created. I sincerely hope that the courts demolish craigsli…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Um, OK. How about the fact that apartment listings in NYC are basically 95% spam, with brokers advertising apartments that don't exist, to pull a bait and switch when you call -- including on the specifically non-broker pages? Searching by price is broken (look for $500 listings and it will return $500 daily, $500 weekly, $500 monthly, all mixed up together). Searching by neighborhood is broken, since it relies on ke…
"(I understand it's better outside of NYC, but since NYC is the largest city in the US, that doesn't really matter.)" I always think it's funny that the most cosmopolitan cities can breed the most parochial attitudes.
The conversation here reminds me of the discussions last week around Microsoft Excel: Craigslist is a tool that techies seem to universally deplore, but every non-techie I know uses it regularly and without much complaint.
The conversation here reminds me of the discussions last week around Microsoft Excel: Craigslist is a tool that techies seem to universally deplore, but every non-techie I know uses it regularly and without much complaint.
For niches, there's alternatives. My family and friends use other sites estate sales, radio gear, land sales, apartments, handymen, etc...