TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Tag: Jim Buckmaster

  • Buckmaster: No amount of criminal activity is acceptable

    Craigslist gets strict on erotic listings:

    This is another article about the alleged craigslist crackdown on prostitution.

    One of the problems with craigslist that it shows that the people who are flagging the ads in the erotic services section are competing ‘escorts’. How’s that user policing working out?

    The other thing is yet another quote from craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster and his alleged disdain for criminal activity…

    Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster said preventing site misuse and improving public safety is the company’s highest priority.

    “The incidence of crime on Craigslist is actually exceedingly low, considering the tens of millions of legitimate ads posted each month by well-intentioned users,” Buckmaster said. “But no amount of criminal activity is acceptable, and as Craigslist has grown, we have become aware of instances where our free services were being misused to facilitate illegal activities.”

    You’ve become aware? That sounds like you’ve just found out about it. I know someone who has been following the criminal activity on your site for almost 3 years. And if the crime on craigslist is so unacceptable why haven’t you taken any real measures to curb it?

    Just more lip service.

  • More on craigslist’s new rules

    Craigslist to charge for erotic services ads:

    Yesterday, I did an interview with Matthew B. Stannard of the San Francisco Chronicle about craigslist’s new security measures. Let’s get my media self-back patting out of the way first.

    On the other end of the criticism spectrum was Trench Reynolds, a pseudonymous crime blogger who tracks Craigslist-linked crime at thetrenchcoat.com.

    “I still say the best way to crack down on that is to do away with the erotic services section altogether,” he said. “I think (the deal) will cut down on a lot of the erotic services ads, but I don’t think it will cut down enough to put me out of business.”

    And I still stand by what I said.

    Now let’s move on to a quote by craigslist’s CEO himself Jim Buckmaster…

    “It raises the accountability for people posting to the category,” said Craigslist Chief Executive Officer Jim Buckmaster. “Our well-intentioned users don’t want to see illegal activity on the site, either.”

    Buckmaster said the company is trying to strike a balance, keeping the erotic services section – in part to keep such ads from appearing elsewhere on Craigslist – but trying to do so responsibly, protecting free speech and preventing exploitation. Hopefully, he said, Craigslist can be a pioneer in this kind of cooperation as it has been on the Internet.

    “In our humble opinion this is the way to go, and we would invite other online services to follow suit,” he said. “We all would be better off if we all voluntarily do what is necessary to curtail illegal activity on the Internet.”

    I keep hearing this theory that if craigslist did away with erotic services, the ads would appear in other parts of the site. Well, if erotic services ads appear in other parts of the site, won’t the users then be able to flag them? I mean, that’s what Mr. Buckmaster was touting prior to the new measures. Has Mr. Buckmaster lost faith in his user base that he has so highly touted in the past? Or did he never have it to begin with and just wants the traffic that the erotic services section provides?

  • craigslist announces bold new security measures

    No sooner did I post my previous post about Craigslist big announcement did I see this post by Jim Buckmaster on craigslist’s official blog.

    craigslist is taking huge steps to eliminate crime on its sites.

    First off craigslist is suing 14 companies whose service and software are geared towards circumventing craigslist’s existing security measures such as needing a working phone number to place an erotic services ad.

    Speaking of erotic services, those ads will now require not only credit card verification but also a small fee with 100% of that money donated to charity.

    They have also entered into a new partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to help put a stop to the exploitation of children.

    You can read the entire press release at the link I posted above.

    Is this the end of crime on craigslist? Is this the end of this section of the site? Um…no.

    While I applaud the efforts that craigslist is going to they still refuse to eliminate the erotic services section altogether.

    While the measures they are putting in place are admirable but still can be circumvented. How many of the new ads will be placed with stolen credit cards?

    This is a huge step to eliminating crime on craigslist but unfortunately, it is still not enough.

  • Northern Cali is craigslist crime hotspot

    N. Calif. Called Craigslist Crime ‘Hotspot’:

    This was an interview I did with TV station KCRA in Sacramento, California about violent crimes and craigslist. Yes, I know they call me Trent Reynolds. That’s more TV friendly than Trench. It’s not like either of those are my real name anyway so there you have it.

    I thought I would be going head to head with Jim Buckmaster himself but that turned out not to be. I would have loved to have had that opportunity.

    First, let me brag about my one and only quote in the article…

    Crimes such as stolen items for sale, offers of prostitution and money fraud are much more common. A clearing house for these crimes is found on the Web site thetrenchcoat.com — a site where victims can share their Craigslist horror stories.

    “I see more crimes reported on the West Coast and in the Pacific Northwest. The big hotspots would be in Northern California,” site developer Trent Reynolds said.

    The area is a Craigslist fan base: The site was born just down the road in San Francisco, and Northern California’s in turn use it more and are more likely to become victims.

    It’s true. Violent crimes like armed robbery are rarer on craigslist than prostitution and fraud but that doesn’t make it any less of an issue. And Northern California is the epicenter of craigslist related crime since that’s where the site got its start and people have been using it longer there than anywhere else.

    Now let’s hear from craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster…

    According to Jim Buckmaster, CEO of Craigslist, the percentage of postings that end in significant crimes is low when compared with the legitimate use of the site.

    Buckmaster claimed Craigslist is unable to track the number of crimes involving the site. He said the task would be daunting, pointing to the 50 million monthly users, 35 million listings and 12 billion monthly pageviews.

    “The incidence is not zero. We’d like it be zero, but it’s not zero,” Buckmaster said.

    It’s definitely not zero but like I said it’s a large enough number to cause concern yet Mr. Buckmaaster just washes his hands of it and refuses to do anything to protect his userbase.

    User profiles, while not a perfect solution, would go a long way to discouraging a lot of crime on craigslist. So would eliminating the erotic services section. Two things that craigslist is not considering. So anonymous crime will continue unabated on craigslist. Eventually, people will get so fed up with it they’ll move on to other sites and then the big wigs at craigslist will wonder what happened.

    Again, how have they not hired me as a consultant? I’m not above selling out to the man. craigslist and its users see themselves as going against the grain but in reality, they’re just another corporation hence they are ‘the man’.

  • CNN on craigslist child prostitution

    Child prostitutes sell themselves on Craigslist:

    This is the best article yet that I’ve read on the problem of child prostitution on craigslist. I’m not going to quote the meat of the article because this is one of those articles that needs to be read in its entirety.

    However, I will quote a part where craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster thinks he’s part of the solution instead of part of the problem…

    Craigslist executives said they abhor the fact that their site is being used for child prostitution but believe that the problem could be harder to track if they removed the category.

    “It would be a bigger problem if we removed that category and had those ads spread throughout the site,” said Jim Buckmaster, chief executive officer of Craigslist.

    Really Jim? If you shut down the erotic services section of craigslist where would these ads go? Used cars? Furniture? Pets? Real Estate? You mean the places where people who don’t use hookers would actually see the ads and actually flag them? Horrors, we can’t have that now can we Jim?

    Prostitution and child prostitution is on the rise because of craigslist. Yes, there are other sites out there that cater to this kind of depravity but in my opinion, craigslist is the #1 offender. What’s it going to take Jim before you eliminate the erotic services section? I mean there have already been rapes, robberies, and shootings.

    For a website that flaunts how socially responsible it is, it doesn’t seem to be putting its words into action.

  • craigslist CEO reacts to Conn. AG

    Dipping once again into the well of craigslist’s ugly ass blog we come across this missive from craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster about Conn. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.

    While I think AG Blumenthal is out of his ever-lovin’ mind I do want to take Mr. Buckmaster to task for a quote in his post.

    Unlike the telephone yellow pages, many newspapers, and countless websites, which for many years have profited from “erotic service” ads, craigslist derives no revenue (let alone profit) from “erotic services”, and in fact we incur significant costs in enforcing our terms of use regarding these ads.

    It’s not about the cash Jim. It’s about the anonymity. Newspapers, phone books, etc can easily trace back to their clients if need be. On the other hand, you can not. It’s not just about the erotic services either, at least not with me. The anonymity of craigslist provides all types of criminals to prey upon the law-abiding users of craigslist.

  • craigslist CEO on erotic services

    Speaking of craigslist’s ugly ass official blog, CEO Jim Buckmaster posted this entry the other day about craigslist’s new phone verification system for their erotic services section. I have yet to check it out but I’m sure I can find numerous ways that it can be circumvented. Anyway, he claims that it cut down on the number of erotic service ads by 80%. That’s still 20% too many. Even one instance of child prostitution or human trafficking is still too many.

    Mr. Buckmaster also said that they are looking for additional ways to eliminate criminal activity on craigslist. I’ve got two ways that would eliminate most if not all the crime on craigslist. Take away the anonymity and do away with the erotic services section.

    I’ll be awaiting my consultant’s check Jim.

  • The NY Times on craigslist crimes

    The NY Times on craigslist crimes

    Law Enforcement Targets Prostitution on Craigslist:

    It’s nice to see the NY Times write a sizzling expose about craigslist prostitution. Never mind that I’ve been writing about it for the past year. However, this article does have some merit as it has some great quotes.

    First, let’s hear from craigslist president Jim Buckmaster…

    Law enforcement officials have accused Craigslist of enabling prostitution. But the company’s president, Jim Buckmaster, said its 24-member staff cannot patrol the multitude of constantly changing listings — some 20 million per month — and counts on viewers to flag objectionable ads, which are promptly removed.

    “We do not want illegal activity on the site,” he said. Asked whether the company supported the police’s placing decoy ads on Craigslist, Mr. Buckmaster said: “We don’t comment on the specifics” of law enforcement.

    Like I’ve said before, the problem with users policing the ads is that people who use craigslist for normal items aren’t going to venture into the erotic services section and people using the erotic services section sure as hell aren’t going to flag the ads.

    Now, let’s hear from a pro-prostitute advocate…

    Tracy Quan, a member of the advocacy group Prostitutes of New York and author of the autobiographical novel “Diary of a Married Call Girl” (Harper Perennial, 2006), acknowledged that “the Internet became a virtual street for people in the sex industry,” but said that “the police are as inventive and as wily as sex workers are.” She said that the stings amounted to entrapment of consenting adults, and that “it seems like an enormous waste of time resources by authoritarian busybodies.”

    Translation: I think I’m above the law, so I’m going to complain about police doing their job.

    And again from Mr. Buckmaster…

    Law enforcement officials ask why Craigslist even includes Erotic Services among its 191 categories. Mr. Buckmaster, the company president, said the site created that category “at the request of our users” for legitimate massage, escorts and exotic dancers. In an e-mail interview, he said that the police had praised the company’s cooperation, though he did not give examples.

    Letting the inmates run the asylum is never a good idea.

    And for those of you who think that prostitution is no big deal, I leave you with this quote…

    The police say the focus on such misconduct is worthwhile because prostitution is often linked to other crimes involving drugs, weapons, physical abuse and exploitation of minors and immigrants.

    But I guess you’re ok with all of that.

  • Teen prostitutes uncovered in Chicago

    Teen prostitutes uncovered in Chicago

    Women charged with offering girls for sex:

    I’ll give you 3 guesses of which website they were advertising on. I’ll give you a hint. It rhymes with gregslist.

    Cook County Sheriffs in Illinois conducted a Craigslist prostitution sting which resulted in finding prostitutes ages 14, 15 and 16-years-old. Those charged in separate incidents were Tamara Cotton, 25, who was charged with keeping a place of prostitution and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and one count of pimping and child endangerment. Christina Holt, 19, who is charged with keeping a house of prostitution. Holt’s boyfriend, Montrell Knight, 34, who was storing guns and drugs for the Gangster Disciples, was charged with nine counts of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, armed violence, and three drug-related charges.

    The teen prostitutes themselves are not being treated as criminals, and Cook County is trying to get them help.

    So what does craigslist have to say about this?

    Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster wrote in an e-mail Thursday that illegal activity is prohibited on the site, and that the erotic services page is intended for use by “legal escort services and sensual massage providers.”

    “It was added at the request of our users, who wanted these ads separated from our general personals categories,” he wrote. “We appreciate and are fully cooperative with law enforcement efforts.”

    Legal escort services and sensual massage providers? Take it from someone who grew up in a town rife with prostitution, there is no such animal as “legal” escort services and sensual massage.

    Once again, craigslist is turning a blind eye to illegal activity on their site. They say that they’re fully cooperative with law enforcement, but it seems to me that it’s after the fact.

    Thanks to Tim for the link.

  • People in glass houses

    People in glass houses

    Craigslist exec strives to keep the Internet neutral:

    Jim Buckmaster is the CEO of craigslist. He’s concerned about Net Neutrality. Basically, proponents of Net Neutrality want the government to step in and prevent ISP’s from creating tiered levels of service, with the premium-priced tier providing faster service to highly trafficked websites. Personally, I’d prefer the government to stay out of the internet, but that’s neither here nor there.

    Mr. Buckmaster would like the government to get involved.

    I guess I would say I’m cautiously optimistic that lawmakers will do the right thing, although it seems in a lot of cases that these things get decided according to who puts forward the most lobbying and the most campaign contributions, he said. Since the phone companies have played this game for decades, they certainly have an advantage there.

    Mr. Buckmaster should be careful in invoking the name of our government and should be more concerned with cleaning up his own house. MySpace has already felt the wrath of state and federal governments due to the controversy that surrounds it. With craigslist’s reputation for drug dealing, prostitution, robberies, and assaults, it’s only a matter of time before someone in the government decides to regulate craigslist.