this post was submitted on 27 Mar 2024
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Privacy
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Marketplace is pretty useful. I hope a solid open-source alternative comes along.
What's important here is not the source code, but whether the service collects unnecessary information.
Craigslist does a pretty good job of respecting privacy.
I agree. However, I think that most people won't use Craigslist simply because it doesn't have a lot of the modern niceties, specifically modern messaging solutions. The email system they have is pretty painful to use.
It's easy enough to do messaging via text, or whatever other contact info you choose to give out. I like that I can use Craigslist without giving them much info about myself.
If you're suggesting that a messaging system built into the venue is critical for success, then I suppose all of us wanting privacy are out of luck for now... but perhaps Craigslist (or some other privacy-friendly venue) could make it happen by integrating Matrix.
I agree that most messaging services are problematic, but Facebook having Messenger is part of the moat that's keeping FB users on Marketplace. I think offering any non-email messaging solution would be hugely beneficial. I like the Matrix idea quite a bit.
Europe's new Digital Markets Act might help in this department, too, through legally mandated interoperable messaging. Let's hope it works out in our favor.
Craigslist also doesn't have shit on it. try and buy a car on there. if you're looking for a beater, sure. but a halfway decent sports car, fb marketplace is the only place
its still OK for other stuff, I've bought tools and whatnot off Craigslist, but for vehicles fb is unfortunately still king
What you're describing is the network effect in action, not a flaw in Craigslist.
(It will be the same with every alternative you find, except perhaps one that's well funded with outside money, which will be awful on the privacy front, of course.)
The way we overcome a network effect is piece by piece:
If I felt I had to buy a sports car, and some awful invasive site like Facebook was somehow the only viable venue, I would buy just the car there. I wouldn't make them the middle man for every other transaction in my life.
well yea its not Craigslist itself that's the issue, its the fact that its a smaller platform. and yea I use eBay or Craigslist for everything but vehicles.its sad that Craigslist has been forgotten though.