Craigslist: Less erotic than before?
May 14, 2009 12:18 PM   Subscribe

Acting on criticisms and pressure from law enforcement, Craigslist has announced it will shut down its "erotic services" category in the U.S. Reaction is mixed and some are suggesting that online prostitution will simply find a new name.
posted by stinkycheese (61 comments total)


 
They should make like US television, and just up the violence to compensate!
posted by Artw at 12:22 PM on May 14, 2009 [2 favorites]


m4g!
posted by Mach5 at 12:22 PM on May 14, 2009


Maybe this will save alternative weeklies?
posted by JoanArkham at 12:23 PM on May 14, 2009 [1 favorite]


The long nose of the law...
posted by dancestoblue at 12:27 PM on May 14, 2009 [1 favorite]


This will put a stop to prostitution!
posted by WPW at 12:27 PM on May 14, 2009 [5 favorites]


Gee, I hope they figure out another way to advertise.
posted by futureisunwritten at 12:31 PM on May 14, 2009


Didn't they catch the guy because things were out in the open?
posted by helmutdog at 12:35 PM on May 14, 2009 [1 favorite]


This will put a stop to prostitution law enforcement's simplified tracking of prostitution!
posted by mullingitover at 12:36 PM on May 14, 2009 [1 favorite]


I'm thinking Twitter is going to suddenly get more interesting.

Can we get a new section on Metafilter to capitalize on the diaspora of sex workers looking for new places to ply their trade? We can call it EroticFun.Metafilter, abbreviated EfMe, and colloquially referred to as "the Red".


Looking for a FULL BOYFRIEND EXPERIENCE? (Tuscaloosa) pic

I will allow you to cook me dinner, insult all your friends, and fall asleep in front of the TV while you clean the kitchen. OUTCALL ONLY! 350 'favorites' gets you the full package.
posted by logicpunk at 12:39 PM on May 14, 2009 [51 favorites]


I thought that site was all undercover vice cops accidentally hooking up with other undercover vice cops.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:41 PM on May 14, 2009 [29 favorites]


Didn't they catch the guy because things were out in the open?

Yeah, that whole thing was stupid. The woman happened to advertised on cragslist but she could have done it anywhere. If prostitution were legal they could have done a lot to make things safer, like making sure a client's information had been taken down and verified, etc.

Anyway, they're still going to allow ads under "Adult Services" (rather then "Erotic" I guess) and now they are going to charge money and keep it (rather then donating it to charity). The difference will be more identity verification and more careful monitoring to prevent obvious prostitution codewords.

So ironically the adds stay and this means more money for cragslist. Hardly a major sacrifice on their part
posted by delmoi at 12:44 PM on May 14, 2009


The difference will be more identity verification and more careful monitoring to prevent obvious prostitution codewords.

Which will giving rise to the Age of Arcane Codewords, and I can't wait!

"Will hang wallpaper or smelt iron in your car or home. No flipping chairs or counting to eighty. Turtle-free and always AFK."
posted by Spatch at 12:50 PM on May 14, 2009 [39 favorites]


("Which will giving" is another codeword. But that one's really vile. Ssh.)
posted by Spatch at 12:50 PM on May 14, 2009


Which will giving rise to the Age of Arcane Codewords, and I can't wait!

Or maybe there'll be special, secret hooker decoder rings!

(I'm not quite sure how a decoder ring would work in the Craigslist context, but I still want one sooo bad.)
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 12:58 PM on May 14, 2009


No flipping chairs or counting to eighty.

No chair flipping? Then what's the point? You might as well not do it at all!
posted by diogenes at 1:05 PM on May 14, 2009 [1 favorite]


I'm very worried about what this will do to the rose industry. All those nice young ladies really wanted were 200, maybe 300 long-stem roses per hour for, you know, companionship and what-have-you. Way I reckon, one of those girls must have kept their neighborhood florist afloat right through this here economic crisis.

...unless, of course, "roses" and "companionship" were euphemisms for something else, something illegal. But I sincerely doubt it.
posted by ford and the prefects at 1:06 PM on May 14, 2009 [2 favorites]


Will hang wallpaper or smelt iron in your car or home. No flipping chairs or counting to eighty. Turtle-free and always AFK.

I fear nothing.
posted by Dr-Baa at 1:07 PM on May 14, 2009 [1 favorite]


This raised a couple questions for me.

1. Technically, the crime committed was assault and murder, right? Not prostitution. Shouldn't they ban murder on craigslist?

2. What about states (Nevada & Rhode Island) where prostitution is legal?
posted by CarlRossi at 1:07 PM on May 14, 2009 [3 favorites]


Not really a twitter brothel, or at least not as I imagine it (140 character sexxytime chats), but still rather odd:

Lucia and Karol both working a extra day on Sunday 26th April 2009 at House of Divine. Twitter Discount to be announced soon.
-DivineMK
posted by filthy light thief at 1:09 PM on May 14, 2009


hooker decoder rings

i sense a remarkable spike in ovaltine sales
posted by beefetish at 1:11 PM on May 14, 2009 [1 favorite]


Looks like the poster of this AskMe question got his wish after all.
posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul at 1:17 PM on May 14, 2009 [4 favorites]



They should make like US television, and just up the violence to compensate!


KICK IN THE MOUTH - $5

I recently purchased a new KICK IN THE MOUTH, so I need to get rid of my old KICK IN THE MOUTH. This KICK IN THE MOUTH comes complete with accessories (maniacal laughter mechanism, broken front door hinges, whiskey breath, etc.) and a five second IF YOU CAN GET TO YOUR FEET money back guarantee. This KICK IN THE MOUTH was used only once by a little old lady on her way to church. See pics below, or e-mail for video footage of the KICK IN THE MOUTH.
posted by Bathtub Bobsled at 1:23 PM on May 14, 2009


This is what happens when you leave out a section in the Terms of Service about the guidelines for murdering each other.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:23 PM on May 14, 2009


Anyway, they're still going to allow ads under "Adult Services" (rather then "Erotic" I guess) and now they are going to charge money and keep it (rather then donating it to charity). The difference will be more identity verification and more careful monitoring to prevent obvious prostitution codewords.

...Okay. Here's the thing -- my Walks on the Wild Side have been in some very very specific areas, so I am indeed still going to have to ask this question --

If prostitution is illegal, exactly what OTHER kinds of services would people be advertising under "Adult Services"?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 1:25 PM on May 14, 2009


If prostitution is illegal, exactly what OTHER kinds of services would people be advertising under "Adult Services"?

diaper changing, spankings, playing doctor, and tickling... ironically enough
posted by Bathtub Bobsled at 1:28 PM on May 14, 2009 [3 favorites]


I just don't know what to think about managing prostitution. Obviously it will always be there, and we'd all love to see pimping, violence and sexual slavery disappear.

But the experience in Amsterdam doesn't look all that encouraging for legalization to be the magic bullet. I have not heard that Nevada has become a safe happy place for hookers either.
posted by msalt at 1:31 PM on May 14, 2009


2. What about states (Nevada & Rhode Island) where prostitution is legal?

In Nevada , prostitution is done in brothels, I don't know if it's legal to visit people's homes, etc. In RI people generally do it in massage parlors (from what I understand)
posted by delmoi at 1:32 PM on May 14, 2009


Can we get a new section on Metafilter to capitalize on the diaspora of sex workers looking for new places to ply their trade?

First Post! SLYT.

and probably nsfw
posted by CynicalKnight at 1:38 PM on May 14, 2009


"Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who met with the Craigslist team in New York recently, and has called the site a 'blatant Internet brothel,' said that, 'Craigslist is heeding our clear call for conscience and common sense, sending a strong signal that Internet sites must police themselves to protect others.'"

Alliterative Anarchy!
posted by radiosig at 1:49 PM on May 14, 2009


If prostitution is illegal, exactly what OTHER kinds of services would people be advertising under "Adult Services"?

Checkbook balancing, taking out the trash, cleaning gutters, waiting up until the kids get home, etc.
posted by pardonyou? at 1:50 PM on May 14, 2009 [5 favorites]


The Philadelphia City Paper has always been my preferred vehicle for satisfying my transsexual prostitute (9" FF!) needs.
posted by Mister_A at 1:55 PM on May 14, 2009 [1 favorite]


Problem solved!
posted by chairface at 1:58 PM on May 14, 2009


They started cracking down on prostitution ads awhile back in Craigslist. The result in the M4M personals formula was a sudden upswing of people looking for "generou$" partners and promising "fifty reasons" (really, only $50?). That's on top of all the folks looking to "blow clouds" or "party 'n' play, can you supply favors?"
posted by Nelson at 2:02 PM on May 14, 2009


It'll be the equivalent of "escort services". I answered the phones for one in South Austin while I was a senior in high school (they advertised in the help wanted section under "office/clerical"). At any rate, it paid well for a high school job, and it was only on Saturdays and Sundays, during the day. I did have to know all the prostitution code words in case vice DID call. I had a very limited list of services we DID offer - companionship, dinner date, whatever, and a very long list of services we claimed we didn't offer.

(History: Once I found out what the job was, I was 99% inclined to turn it down, save for the fact that the woman running it had an infant daughter that I figured could probably use some extra looking after. That's mostly what I spent my time doing- babysitting. The service would get maybe 3-4 calls on a Saturday that generally consisted of some inebriated, gruff-sounding guys looking for "a date to take to the boat show". The whole affair was pretty low-fi and depressing.)
posted by PuppyCat at 2:15 PM on May 14, 2009


satisfying my transsexual prostitute (9" FF!) needs

Is that code for cleaning the house and doing laundry?
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 2:17 PM on May 14, 2009 [1 favorite]


unless, of course, "roses" and "companionship" were euphemisms for something else...

Why bother with euphemisms. Show up for any regular date with two or three hundred literal roses in hand, and I imagine you will be very well-received.
posted by rokusan at 2:47 PM on May 14, 2009


Show up for any regular date with two or three hundred literal roses in hand, and I imagine you will be very well-received.

I dunno, the excess might ping the creep-o-meter. "Could I buy you a dress or something? Could I buy you some jewelry or something?
posted by msalt at 2:58 PM on May 14, 2009


Looks like the poster of this AskMe question got his wish after all.

Whoa, that was fun. I should read AskMe in the middle of the night more often.
posted by Devils Rancher at 3:09 PM on May 14, 2009


I'm delighted about this as I believe sex should never be a profit orientated affair. Now onto advertising, cars, cigarettes, childrens cereal, perfume, music, fashion, art, literature, toothpaste, and the American Presidency. If we can remove all of these we will finally be a pure species that will excel and progress to the finer star systems in the Universe. About bloody time.
posted by Elmore at 3:17 PM on May 14, 2009


"I thought that site was all undercover vice cops accidentally hooking up with other undercover vice cops."

So...what are you looking for?
What are YOU looking for?
...
...no, really, you want to get nasty?
Yeah, really nasty, yeah.
...
Uh huh.
Yep.
...
Ok, so...
Yeah, totally....
...
You want to party or what?
Yeah, I want to party. What are we talking about here?
...
So... let's party.
Yeah...
OK FREEZE DON'T MOVE DIRTBAG!
HANDS OVER YOUR HEA...what?
posted by Smedleyman at 3:26 PM on May 14, 2009 [1 favorite]


Calvin: "... What are adult situations?"
Hobbes: "Probably things like going to work, paying bills and taxes, taking responsibilities..."
posted by Tuesday After Lunch at 3:33 PM on May 14, 2009 [1 favorite]


I think that 'adult services' is and will be a place where advertisers can seek people for legitimate sexual services such as work in porn, which is legal. or so I hear...
posted by supermedusa at 3:38 PM on May 14, 2009


This is the perfect opportunity for prostitutes and lol cat lovers to unite to form a more perfect code language:



----->>>>>YES...U....CAN....HAAAZZZ....CHEEZEBURGR!1!1!

%PUURRIIIDDYYY_____KITTEH____LUVS___U___DIS___FRYYYYYDY____AFTR FYV%

*****KUMPLAYWITME-NUM!NUM!NUM!*****

LEMME HAZ TREEHUNDREE PUMP_I_KENS & UZS GITS DA SPLOOSH DA WIPP CREMES
posted by Muddler at 3:47 PM on May 14, 2009 [1 favorite]


We can call it EroticFun.Metafilter, abbreviated EfMe, and colloquially referred to as "the Red".

Not The Red. The Pink.
posted by vibrotronica at 3:57 PM on May 14, 2009


Which will giving rise to the Age of Arcane Codewords, and I can't wait!

Our cafeteria served "Asian Warm Beef Salad" last week and I kept thinking that that had to be a euphemism for SOMETHING.
posted by GuyZero at 4:03 PM on May 14, 2009 [1 favorite]


French Dip.
posted by Artw at 4:17 PM on May 14, 2009


Where will the prostitutes go? Right back to where they came from before CL made the erotic services section - the rest of CL. That's the stated reason that they created the section, so other sections would not be peppered with ads for blowjobs. Unless CL is planning to screen ads for the whole site, this seems pretty inevitable. I suspect they even know this, but public outrage is forcing their hands. Stupid, stupid public outrage.
posted by Edgewise at 4:21 PM on May 14, 2009 [1 favorite]


They could start randomly following people on Twitter.
posted by Artw at 4:22 PM on May 14, 2009


Right back to where they came from before CL made the erotic services section - the rest of CL.

I'd like to sell you a bed. Oh yeah, baby, a bed. To go with your 8' bookcase. Is your bookcase erect?

The bed has a smelted iron frame, but does not come with matching wallpaper. You can cover it with turtles, if you like, but bring your own.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 5:37 PM on May 14, 2009


Yeah, those scumbags aren't going to have anywhere to advertise anymore!

Nice work, Johnny Law!
posted by orme at 6:18 PM on May 14, 2009


Aww, damn. Erotic services is the most entertaining part of Craigslist. And what about the (admittedly small) percentage of people offering (non-prostie) services of the erotic variety, like this lady and her nude maid service?

"I DO NOT ENGAGE WITH CLIENTS IN SEXUAL ACTIVITIES! PLEASE DO NOT ASK!"
(It's ok to rub one out, though.)
posted by Captain Cardanthian! at 7:20 PM on May 14, 2009


They are only getting rid of the "erotic" category under "services." There's still the "casual encounters" and the m4w, w4m, etc. categories under the personals. All the prostitution will just move over there, although I think there was already a lot of it under the casual encounters section.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 7:30 PM on May 14, 2009


This is going to be great! Remember how we had a War on Drugs prostitution, and now you can't get drugs prostitutes anymore?
posted by spaltavian at 8:30 PM on May 14, 2009


I won't CP on your E, or use a DHD on an H. Anything else is OK with a P, but no PS3, PSP or NES. Enter your Konami code into the phone for another five minutes.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:59 PM on May 14, 2009


OK FREEZE DON'T MOVE DIRTBAG!
HANDS OVER YOUR HEA...what?
You're a cop?
You're a cop?
Well. Yeah.
...
...
Do you wanna... get some coffee, sometime?
posted by Pronoiac at 11:08 PM on May 14, 2009


>If prostitution is illegal, exactly what OTHER kinds of services would people be advertising under "Adult Services"?

diaper changing, spankings, playing doctor, and tickling... ironically enough


Fair warning that I'm now entering the realm of intellectual exercise and curiosity. So--

So, seriously, the definition of prostitution is that a penetrative sex act has to be involved, which makes fetish activity for pay legal?

Huh. Would you wager, is that more because the powers that be just haven't figured out how to handle that, or because they just plain don't know about it or really don't want to go there?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:37 AM on May 15, 2009


For the record, EmpressCallipygos, the definition of prostitution most definitely does not require a "penetrative sex act".
posted by robhuddles at 11:09 AM on May 15, 2009


For the record, EmpressCallipygos, the definition of prostitution most definitely does not require a "penetrative sex act".

So....then why is something like spanking a spanking fetishist for pay not considered prostitution?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:12 AM on May 15, 2009




I've browsed "Erotic Services" out of gory interest- the weirdest thing I've seen is this kid who lived across the hall in the dorm posting a picture of himself in a canoe offering his services of fathering someone's child in exchange for a Harley.
I see him a month later riding one.
posted by dunkadunc at 12:11 PM on May 15, 2009 [1 favorite]




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