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Craiglist, an online community of communitiesA community is a social group that shares an environment. With the emergence of the Internet, communities are no longer limited to physical environments, but include online communities where people share time and interests. Craigslist is one online community that has extended to phenomenal heights, in that currently offers a number of ways for users to connect and connects a large number of people. Craigslist offers users a non-commercial environment where people can make personal connections and personally conduct business outside of the corporate world. Divided into separate communities for different geographical areas, Craigslist encompasses local listings for over 400 U.S. cities, and over 30 countries. The site features free posting for classifies under categories such as housing, sales, services, personals, gigs, and resumes. A majority of the job postings are also cost-free. Craigslist includes community announcements, local news, events, and public service items such as a lost+found section, rideshares, and volunteering. Users can also access weather and marine information in some areas. A number of forums are available in each community, encompassing a wide-range of topics from fitness to religion. Craigslist began in 1995 when Craig Newmark, a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, observed other online social communities and decided to create one for local events in his area. Word of mouth created huge user demand, and Craigslist grew to accommodate. The site changed from just providing local information and events to including postings by subscribers to the many categories the site has today. In 1999, Newmark realized he needed to work to maintain Craigslist full-time, and by the end of the year 2000, he had nine employees assisting him. Despite the continued popularity and high traffic volume, Craigslist remains free of banner advertisements. Instead, Newmark keeps the site non-commercial and has introduced the Craigslist Foundation. The foundation is a nonprofit organization that helps future nonprofit leaders get established, gain visibility, and acquire the skill set and knowledge to maintain success. The Craigslist Foundation website offers a number of resources, but does not promote or consult, instead standing as a "community catalyst" for a strong civil society. Craigslist.org, itself, maintains that its popularity is due to the down-to-earth values and opportunity it provides for a personal voice in society. The simple-to-use website seems to thrive on the spirit of local community, but it has had to overcome a number of ethical and legal problems.The email subscription service, which Craigslist began with, has been suspended indefinitely, due to problems including user abuse, mail server limitations, automated replies, and spam operations. This, of course, did not stop all abuse on Craigslist, and users must watch for scams and fraud. The anonymity of the electronic world has allowed a great number of scam artists to safely connive money from Internet-users. Craigslist, which does not guarantee or certify any financial transaction, tries to help users protect themselves from being cheated by offering tips on recognizing scams and allowing users to "flag" postings. In the end, it is up to the users to protect their information, both financial and personal, when replying to other users. Craigslist is not responsible for fraud, but does what it can to help its users help monitor the extensive community of sites. Scammers aren't the only activity to be wary of, and Craigslist's help page offers links to assist users in reporting other breaches of "morality". Harassment issues, such as private information being posted by a different user or abusive emails, can be reported and flagged. The site also has links for information dealing with copyright violations, spam, and subpoenas. In essence, Craigslist is an online community of communities where users are acting as Craigslist citizen to help protect and maintain an environment that meets their standards and desires. It is a community of voices and interaction. privacy policy |
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