Oh, I get it. This is Craigslist's fault, just like EJ's situation is AirBnB's fault. Here are a few reasons that this isn't a good parallel:
* Craigslist is a general classified ad listing service. The expectation of a person posting a classified listing is completely different than a person using a very focused product like AirBnB.
* Craigslist doesn't stand in the way of you contacting and vetting the person you're about to meet.
* Craigslist has two prominently located links that contain very explicit (and maybe "scary") warnings about protecting yourself while using the site; AirBnB only recently shored up this effort.
* A large part of the criticism isn't necessarily centered around the actual crime that occurred, but AirBnB's response. For example, asking her to release a new post with a "positive" twist is pretty off color to a lot of people.
Comments
Oh, I get it. This is Craigslist's fault, just like EJ's situation is AirBnB's fault. Here are a few reasons that this isn't a good parallel:
* Craigslist is a general classified ad listing service. The expectation of a person posting a classified listing is completely different than a person using a very focused product like AirBnB.
* Craigslist doesn't stand in the way of you contacting and vetting the person you're about to meet.
* Craigslist has two prominently located links that contain very explicit (and maybe "scary") warnings about protecting yourself while using the site; AirBnB only recently shored up this effort.
http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams
http://www.craigslist.org/about/safety
* A large part of the criticism isn't necessarily centered around the actual crime that occurred, but AirBnB's response. For example, asking her to release a new post with a "positive" twist is pretty off color to a lot of people.
Where is the all the bad PR for craigslist (a la Airbnb) for this story?