Craigslist used to be the go-to site for casual sex. Before the subscription sites were created in the mid-1990s, Craigslist and their classified ads service was the one stop you had to make to meet someone. It was like a casual dating site that took no work or maintenance of a profile, and was totally free.
That was a long time ago, however, and times have changed rapidly. Since the 1990s subscription sites have become the norm for online dating sites, either casual or serious. All across the word the use of Craigslist classified ads for casual sex has decreased exponentially. It is still available, but you risk a lot of factors by relying on classified ads for your casual sex needs. I know that in New Zealand, where I live, no one uses Craigslist anymore. There are so many other online dating sites that offer better service, that it just does not make much sense anymore to risk classified ads. Why are they risky? Well, the first major issue is that there are so many scam posts on Craigslist.
Scam Sites Means Blackmail
Craigslist is a classified ads site that is now appropriately regarded as a scam site. A scam site means that basically anyone can use it, and they can basically post anything they want. If you have been on the site then you probably know what I mean. There are hundreds daily posts made in the personal section that you can tell are scams. Common characteristics of a scam post include all caps, a long description promising sex, or poor grammar in trying to articulate what they want. Of course it’s obvious what they want: your money. Can we be surprised though? Not really, because Craigslist is not an online dating site, and it is definitely not built to cater to it. The fact that it’s free might seem enticing, but the reality is that you are going to find so many scams that it’s just not worth it. I know that in Christchurch there are tons of seemingly normal posts from people looking for casual sex. I’ve responded to a lot of them, and never once dealt with a genuine person who wants to meet up. It’s always some story about needing money to come to Christchurch – that’s another clear sign that they are lying and not actually a person you want to have casual sex with.
The scam site problem is the major reason why Craigslist is not a popular casual dating site in New Zealand. There is a lot of blackmail happening on craigslist that many people might not know about. There are smart people who now how to get your money so you gotta avoid free sites. Online dating sites have come a long way, and from my experience are always worth the subscription cost. But what are some of the other problems with Craigslist and classified ad sites for dating in general?
Classified Ads: No Private Messaging
Craigslist does not let you make a private message to anyone. You have to use a registered email, and that can get sketchy if you are cheating on your wife. She can randomly happen upon these communications very easily. So the lack of privacy is a major issue, and one of the first things you can rely on if you pay for a subscription site rather than rely on classified ads. This leads to a lot of risk of blackmail, which happened a lot in New Zealand over the 1990s. I had a friend who was forced to pay $3,000 to an anonymous blackmail artist who she stumbled upon when using Craigslist back in the day.
Classified Ads: No Sharing Images
One of the best things about subscription sites is that you can send sexy photo’s back and forth as much as you want. It’s one of the best ways I have learned to get casual sex because it really turns up the heat and get’s you attracted to the other person. On craigslist you don’t have that option. There is only email, so you are left imagining what the person looks like until you finally meet up in person. So together with the scamming problem, Craigslist is totally unreliable if you want to meet someone through an online dating site.
Classified Ads: No Description
The nail in the coffin with classified ad sites like Craigslist is that you don’t even get a chance to read up much about the person who has posted. Sure they will say a little bit about what they like, and how they are, and what they are looking for, but it’s never very good. In Christchuch we all use one of the better subscription sites like MILFtastic.com because on this kind of site you can search for yourself, see images of what they look like, and actually chat in real time. These are the normal circumstances of dating today, and Craigslist has not become anything different from what it was in the 1990s – a glorified bulletin board for people to connect with people in the most simple ways.