Craigslost

Leah wrote a post recently about the death of Craigslist. While her post dealt with a problem - that is, of being flagged the minute you place an ad - I, as a boy, have have other problems with Craigslist - namely, there not being any real girls on it. Except Leah... but I've never seen her on there.

The same problem was rife on Gumtree, and it's also prevalent on specifically adult dating sites, like AFF. Evidently, while I was in a relationship with TD, there was absolutely no need to visit these sites, but Leah's post piqued my interest, especially as I had just posted a speculative ad on London's Craigslist myself. I didn't get any replies (as has happened before), so I wrote out and sent a generic e-mail to all the w4m ads in the 'casual encounters' section. I got few replies back, but those that did come back all followed the same pattern. Something like this:

Hi there,
We met a little while back, from my advert on Gumtree I think it was.
That's stupid that its offline now.
Well I am again looking to meet guys.
I'm gonna be here http://digg.com/u3O26b
Superb web site, very busy.
Hopefully see you there.
Diaz

This is, of course, a scam. But they all follow the same pattern. Shortened URLs all pointing to a site you need to sign up for. Some of them even add you to MSN and try to point you to a site that, they claim, is for verification purposes... or otherwise.

Here's my profile http://secretd8.com/?page=1754 , it's got my number listed once you've verified, more photos, even a video, phone me Sweety!

And again...

Oh my friend just came in by the way and I told her about you lol well excited. She said to me though that I should ask you to do an online background check first to make sure you are not a sex offender or something lol. Would you do that for me quickly, because she won't let me go without pfftt. She just made me create an account here on this website http://jenny86x.safedateguard.org

And again...

I'm kinda nervous as i haven't done anything like this before... I just want to be safe so I found a site that gives you my mobile after making sure that you're not a sex offender. Doesn't cost you a thing, you get a free trial membership, and that's all you need...well, that and a computer, it doesn't like phones for some weird reason. http://bit.ly/60f27W

And again!

You up for taking this to the phone? I've got so many replies flooding in that I can't reply to them all. My number is on my dating profile http://www.girlssafe.com/?cid=14089, register and click the button that says 'view emily's number'. It's fast, and totally free, so don't worry.

So today I posted another ad... this time, on the regular 'men seeking women' section. I didn't mention sex, I kept it very light and mentioned that I was a geek looking for a girlfriend. This was the response I got...

How is CL doing for you? I got fed up with placing ads and hearing from a bunch of losers. My locks are brown, but looks red when I'm in the sun. I guess it's called 'autumn'. I'm 5'1", my friends call me Tinkerbell. I'm not kidding. what do you do for a living? I am a gradeschool teacher. But I'm rethinking it. So ... what do you think? Wanna hook up? Let me know. Bye!

Sounds very American, but I replied, and this came:

I am all set! Let's get together. I do not feel like undertaking the texty-texty thing. Let's make a meeting, and hit it. Have you been a naughty boy? I've been a really bad girl. Perhaps we ought to discipline one another. on this website [link removed - ILB] Seriously, this place rocks. NO KIDS ALLOWED, though. Poke me, 0simplegirl11 Since I am married, I hope you will be discreet. I can't wait to hook up.

How familiar that sort of response looked.

All these links lead to one of the following:
(i) A webcam site.
(ii) A porn site.
(iii) A fake verification site.
(iv) An adult dating website.

All of them result in loss of money. And none of them result in sex. At all.

I'd be interested in seeing if the same sort of thing happens to girls. I suspect not. They may have their problems too, but I'll be damned if any genuinely honest guy ever really hooks up via Craigslist.