Craigslist and its merry band of Wii reseller flaggers
Lucky me – I happen to have a pretty reliable source of Nintendo Wiis. For the last few months I’ve been getting about 3 Wiis per week. Most of these have gone to clients and friends as gifts, but I’ve sold a few as well.
I used to sell them primarily on eBay, but lately there have been so many fake bidders that you have to watch your auction like a hawk and cancel any bids from a new user or a user with zero feedback. Whether this phenomenon is the result of a slew of new eBay users who just don’t understand the process, or whether it’s primarily nutjob anti-capitalists, I can’t say for sure. (I suspect the latter.) Either way, this, along with eBay’s ridiculous fee structure, has pushed me away. I now sell my Wiis on Craigslist.
Until today, I’ve sold about 6 Wiis on Craigslist without incident. Today, however, some merry band of idiots is out there flagging my Wii ads as “inappropriate,” and they’re being automatically removed from the site. It appears that I am not alone. What is it about reselling Wiis that causes so many otherwise reasonable people to fly into unchecked rages? I have to wonder where these people do their weekly shopping – surely it must be hard to go through life with the attitude that people should sell you whatever you want at cost.
Anyway, I did learn an interesting trick to keep your posts from being removed from Craigslist – just edit the ad every so often, and the “flag counter” will be reset.
February 22nd, 2008 at 9:45 am
[...] Craigslist and its merry band of Wii reseller flaggers [...]
March 21st, 2008 at 4:20 pm
There are groups of people that are ganging up on posters and flagging off anyone’s ad they want – they flag rescues, shelters, community information ads, unspayed or unneutered dogs, people who misspell, people who write in capitols, free dogs, all pit bulls, free cats, all ferrets, all services, too high fee, no fee, supplies and much much more. They also regularly “google” people’s phone numbers and email addresses to post more personal information about breeders, “sellers” and who ever else they deem stalk worthy.
I, personally, am more interested in the pet section because these are live animals needing homes, but please know that there are general flaggers also that gang up and target people. Competition flagging is another problem on Craigslist. If you are experiencing problems outside of the pet section – please refer to the general flagging forum link below. Also, be sure to contact abuse@craigslist.org if you are being harassed, targeted or slandered in any way. This is their site and they should do a better job of maintaining/moderating and supporting loyal users.
This site is community based, so it is important that we quit letting these people decide how things work around here. Whenever I’ve emailed staff they’ve responded with “I need to hear that from more people.”
Ask for an increase in the number of flags in your local area to remove an ad and ask that a Term be added addressing Abusive or Team Flagging in their Craigslist Terms of Use.
Some of these flaggers are also known to hack the flagging system by using IP proxies to ensure the ads they want are removed.
If you visit the forum below you will see that the forum has been recently semi-overtook by unhappy targeted pet posters – help out by joining in the conversations and discussions. Remember to protect your personal information by using an anonymous email through yahoo, hotmail or lycos. Have fun and try not to take any of it too seriously, although animal’s lives are at stake so it can get heated at any time.
http://craigslist.org/forums/?forumID=4915 – For Pet Flagging – help out! Join in!
http://craigslist.org/forums/?forumID=5194 – For General Flagging
http://groups.google.com/group/craigslistpetsalesflagginggroup – No longer available to the public – ASKED BY CRAIGSLIST TO SHUT DOWN.
http://www.noflagnuts.com – Tips and Tricks to posting on Craigslist, most important tip – REPOST often.
http://craigslist.org/forums/?forumID=38912
is where the anti-flaggers are hanging out – you are more than welcome to drop by, ask for help on an ad and what not. Keep the number to yourself though or at least let me know before you give it to someone.
stopabusivecraigslistflags@hotmail.com is another group that is fighting the pet flaggers, they have put together a great email campaign – contact them for more in depth information or to be added to their mailing list.
if you’d like to complain privately – email one or all of them @
craig@craigslist.org
abuse@craigslist.org
clint@craigslist.org
Talk soon and keep your emails and forum posts as clean and as short as possible – gets the best response.
March 28th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Reposting only gets you blocked out entirely. CL is totally apathetic about the flag abuse and refuses to even admit there is a problem. Work your way through the long web of voice menus and you get the same voice that is on the menus, who will tell you to go use another board.
They could address the problem easily by requiring a verification word before flagging, just as they do for posting. What they SHOULD do is require everyone to have an account before posting or flagging, and limit the number of times a person can flag during one period. They could verify one account per person with phone numbers as they do now on some boards.
But it will take a consumer advocate, a lawsuit or a big media journalist, to get their attention, by pointing out that whether or not CL is a private site, they are enabling and advocating harassment and limiting freedom of speech by not addressing the wrongful flagging issue.
July 12th, 2008 at 12:43 am
That last comment makes a lot of sense. In fact, I wrote it. I don’t know who posted it here, but the bottom line is flagging is a big problem at CL and it enables, and encourages people to harass and bully others for any reason at all.
Messages to Craig often get the most juvenile response, as if he didn’t even read what you wrote.
There are in fact people who sit and wait for new ads to flag, people with longterm vendettas or grudges, and apparently no other purpose in life. I’ve also discovered news about professional flaggers who sit around for hours at a time and do the dirty work for others.
Craig and Co. simply refuse to admit this problem exists. Since Craig so obviously loves flags and doesn’t care if they’re used to bother people, I propose people start mailing all kinds of flags to his office. It’s a peaceful protest, and maybe he’ll get the message when they start being delivered at his door from all over the country.
August 8th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
I take this moment to thanks dicks like you.
Your selfish greed is the problem.
You prevent 3 a week from arriving on store shelves. By doing this you and all the other “capitalists” ensure limited availability and continued scalping by creating false demand.
hang on while I migrate from my local CL to sfbay..clicking flag a few times…done bitch.
August 8th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
to the comment before this one – no one is creating “false demand.” the very fact that people are able to turn around and resell them disproves that very assertion.
perhaps you should have studied a little harder in econ 101.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
I’ve had it with Craigslist, and here’s why:
“If you have posted and been flagged three times just today, so now it doesn’t matter what changes you make as soon as the writing community sees you repost they will just flag you down again.
Also. I really don’t know if a open call for story submissions is really a writing gig. That is really up for the community to decide, so if you take a break, repost and are flagged again you need to take the hint that your community doesn’t want your type of ad in their category.”
The above is quoted from the response of a moderator to someone (not me) who requested submissions of children’s stories for audio book publication. Numerous similar ads are published on CL every day and never flagged. And for good reason. As the moderator acknowledges, there is NOTHING IN THIS AD THAT VIOLATES THE TERMS OF USE. Instead, it has been removed for arbitrary reasons, in his or her words, because the “community doesn’t want your type of ad.”
Therein lies the problem with CL. I can think of no other service that allows a small minority of users (just six, in fact, out of the thousands who visit every day) to control all the other users AT THEIR WHIM, making decisions that are based not on set guidelines but because THEY FEEL LIKE IT. That is not right.
And whether or not CL is free is irrelevant. CL is “free” in the same way basic TV or radio are free. There are advertisers paying for that content, but I still expect that when I turn on a given station, it should be broadcasting what it’s supposed to when it’s supposed to. The same goes for any web site. It’s free for me to read and use millions of web sites, but if they don’t provide the quality they promise, I have the right to complain and review them negatively just like anyone else.
Why the person in the above example was targeted is beyond me. As a writer, I would have liked to have had the opportunity to see and answer this ad, and I’m sure many other writers would feel the same. Instead, I get to wade through clear bait- and-switches in the real estate section, porn ads in personals, and stay-at-home scams in the help wanteds, while legitimate ads are removed by teenagers sitting up at night with nothing to do but remove content that rubs them the wrong way for whatever reason.
I’m not going to take the self-defeating attitude that if it’s broke, I might as well ditch it instead of fix it. That doesn’t improve anything or help anyone. Instead, whenever I see an opportunity to negatively review CL, I’m going to take it. I’ve noticed a lot of discontent and grumbling on this subject around the Internet lately. Eventually, as more and more users get fed up with CL, they may start to feel the loss of business. I hope they do.
November 5th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Two solutions: allow positive “flagging” to counteract the negative flagging.
*OR*
Don’t delete flagged posts…just hide them by default unless the person searching ticks a box to show posts that have been flagged.
PETA sucks.
December 10th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Hear The Nazi Flagger Witches’ Screams…
Hear the Nazi Flagger Witches scream from the deepest pits of hell, where they dwell alongside their evil master Lucifer and all his fellows. Watch as yours truly, the Witch Hunter, walks them to the gallows, first to be hanged, then to be ripped and torn by cats, swine, and all other beasts abominable to this world.
May their souls go from the face of God, and their evil reputations from this world, until they forebear their wicked flagging practices, and rise from the wrath of the Witch Hunter who hereby compels them to make satisfaction and penance henceforth.
May the malediction that fell upon Nebuchadnezzar’s lieutenant, Olifernus, making war and savagery upon true christian men; the malediction that fell upon Judas, Pilate, Herod, and the Jews that crucified Our Lord; and all the plagues and troubles that fell on the city of Jerusalem therefore, and upon Simon Magus for his treachery, bloody Nero, Ditius Magcensius, Olibrius, Julianus Apostita and the rest of the cruel tyrants who slew and murdered Christ’s holy servants, fall upon the evil, Nazi Flagger Witches, and all that they may hold dear, for their cruel tyranny and oppression of the benevolent people who use Craigslist.
May all the malevolent wishes and curses ever known, since the beginning of the world, to this hour, light on them. May the malediction of God, that fell upon their master Lucifer and all his fellows, and that cast him from the high Heaven to the pits of hell, light upon them and theirs.
Juika-bloth!
April 20th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Flaggers gang up and target people as it was mentioned. Nothing can be done about it.
I emailed abuse, clint, craig and noting happened. I am in the same boat as the author here (not a breeder or animal stuff.).
April 28th, 2010 at 3:13 am
Where do I buy wii cheap to resell them?
May 13th, 2012 at 7:03 am
Attention Flaggers are so damn stupid, they don’t bother me, every time they flag my ads I set it to pump out twice as many. I stared only posting 1 every other day but the damn self rightous flaggers flagged me. so I started posting more just to keep 1 ad up and they flagged more. So screw that I bought a bot and now spam the hell out of CL, teach those peaice of shit flaggers! now they cant flag fast enough and never will. Flaggers your F*** yourself over. I was not a spammer now I am because you pissed me off. and guess what its all automated, i dont even pay attention when I get flagged and more because a bot reposts the ad. It cost me like $1 for every 1000 posts big deal!. You are not hurting me in the slightest. however you are pissing off more and more people that will do the same as me and you will only hurt yourself. morons! Money alwasy wins! and its nothign to buy a dedicated modem for the job and rotate ips and run a bot. just have to have a brain. and gues what while all the loser flaggers are sitting there wasting there life away flagging as, all us spammers just get bots to post, go about out lifes still make our money and dont give a crap. But has it got an idea. WHY DONT YOU ONLY FLAG THE REAL SPAMMERS IN THE FIRST SLACE INSTEAD OF PISSING OFF SO MANY PEOPLE THAT YOU CREATE SPAMMERS! IDIOTS! Yes something can be done buy a bot and spam the hell out of CL. Then at least the would have a ligitmant reason to flag you as spam…. By they did you know that the more ads that get posted in a CL section the less effective flagging is. Hey flag my ads by they ime they are gone they are already 10 pages down. get enough people pissed off and you will not have nothing but spam. keep up the stupid work flaggers you will see it be your down fall! Once and a while i call a truse and start only posting 1 ad again, and sure enough in less then a week I am in a flagging war so i just open the bot 1/1000 speed and pump out 30 ads a page for a while to teach the little idiods a lesson.
July 15th, 2012 at 1:16 pm
wow to the last comment. so the more people spam and spam just might end up closing CL down. seems like you want that. there is a reason why the flagging system is there. 100s of people more then likely didn’t like do not following CL rules. if someone isn’t following CL rules why should they still have their ad up. like for example there are no pet sale allowed on CL yet people keep putting up ads to sell off pets for a lot of money. also, would you want to buy a pet that has had no shots, no vet check, and not fix when the previous owner should have done? getting a pet from a shelter you’ll get all that and know that you have a healthy pet. another is if someone is selling a lot of the same electronics that is consider a dealer. plus people might think that the poster is stealing those items and who wants to buy stolen items. or ads get flagged as miscategorized cuz they’re in the wrong category. if you don’t like how CL is run or don’t like the rules then don’t use CL. it’s stated in the TOU. have a nice hateful day :)
June 26th, 2013 at 11:48 am
I see it’s been a long time since anyone has commented here unless I missed it but the last post I read about complying with Craigslist Terms or don’t use it has a great point IF that was the only reason Craiglist ads got flagged but anyone that uses Craigslist a lot must surely know ads can get flagged for ANY reason. Ad priced too high, too low, competitor wants rid of you, don’t like you, ad written poorly, ad written too well, etc. etc. etc. I do NOT mind someone telling me how to write a better ad but I do mind ads getting flagged that do not violate any terms! Too many people like different things to allow someone to flag based on that. It would be like my taking people into a grocery store and trying to get carrots removed simply and only because we do not like carrots. Just because some people don’t like a ad or it’s price for whatever reason does not mean there isn’t someone that would read the ad and want the item! I have had people drive as far as 100 miles to buy things from me so I have nice things reasonably priced for sale.
I love ClassifiedAds because if I understood correctly the only way flags can take down one of the ads there is if the ad really is in violation of their terms and that is the way it should be.
People that just want a site to look for cheap stuff and don’t sell would love craiglist because they aren’t going to have any problems unless they don’t inspect the items they buy to make sure they are good but for sellers that do not violate any Craigslist terms they know what I am writing about.