TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Tag: Susan MacTavish Best

  • Katherine Ann Olson and Donna Jou

    Craigslist users wary after killing of baby-sitter:

    Susan MacTavish Best of craigslist had the following to say about the murder of Katherine Ann Olson…

    “We were shocked and saddened to hear of this terrible tragedy, and our deepest sympathies are with the victim’s family and friends,” said Susan MacTavish Best, a spokeswoman for craigslist, an international network of online communities that features free classified advertising.

    Best said there’s never been a homicide linked to craigslist since it was founded 12 years ago.

    “Assuming the craigslist link is confirmed, this would be the first time,” Best said, referring to Olson’s death.

    Best said craigslist officials work with law enforcement whenever they receive a request, but she wouldn’t comment specifically about their involvement in the Olson investigation.

    I bet you think I’m going to rip her again but I’m not. Unlike when defending the erotic services section Ms. MacTavish-Best did not use this as an opportunity to tout how great craigslist is. However, this may not be the first craigslist murder. In a sort of twisted backward way but with no disrespect meant towards anyone involved there is still the matter of Donna Jou.

    Donna Jou went missing in July and was last seen leaving on a date with a guy by the name of John Burgess that she met on craigslist. Unfortunately, as of yet, she has not been found and even less, unfortunately, police are unable to charge Burgess with anything due to lack of evidence. However, it’s entirely possible that Donna Jou may be the first craigslist murder.

    Now you may think that there’s a difference between answering a personal ad and a job ad on craigslist. There is but only slightly. Predators don’t usually use job ads to attract victims but it’s not unheard of.

    This past July I posted a story about a woman who was approached sexually by a man she thought was a prospective employer.

    I guess what I’m saying is that since criminal elements lurk in the rest of craigslist it was only a matter of time before they seeped into the employment ads as well. So no matter what kind of ad you’re placing or responding to on craigslist it doesn’t hurt to be overly cautious. The old saying holds true here, just because you’re not paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you.

    Be careful out there.

  • craigslist denies child prostitution facilitation

    Responding to concerns:

    It wasn’t that long ago that the Mayor of Atlanta, Shirley Franklin, chided craigslist for facilitating child prostitution. Of course, craigslist brushed it off. One of Ms. Frankin’s advisors even mentioned that Facebook and MySpace have been very forthcoming with the mayor’s office even when not legally obligated to do so.

    However, our favorite craigslist mouthpiece, Susan MacTavish Best, had this to say…

    “Craigslist has an erotic services section on the site because our users asked us to create it in order to keep the personals section clear of erotic service ads. (Some folks when looking for a date do not want to have to look at ads for erotic services). Certainly, we … don’t want the site to be used for illegal activity. But we do believe that there should be a place for people to advertise legal escort services. We have over 30 million users a month. As we responded to the Mayor of Atlanta, we are always interested in hearing how we can make Craigslist better. Craigslist makes no money from erotic services because like most of the site, it is free to post there … “

    Legal escort services? No such thing my dear. They may pose as legal but we all know what they’re fronts for. And again you say that you don’t want craigslist used for illegal activities but you’re not doing anything to discourage it. So basically by moving the erotic services section out of the personals you just swept it under the rug hoping nobody would notice.

    What’s it going to take craigslist before you do something about this? Are you waiting for a toddler to get pimped out or worse?

  • Sobering stats

    Crackdown on S.J. prostitution turns to the Web:

    This article from a Northern California newspaper has some pretty sobering statistics about craigslist prostitution.

    Determining just how many prostitutes are operating on the Web is tricky. The erotic services section of Craigslist’s Stockton-area section has had nearly 5,115 posts since Aug. 13, many of them duplicates. Some have been posted by those who offer services for free.

    For reference, there were 998 posts for furniture for sale by owner in that period.

    The trend locally mirrors what’s happening in the nation’s largest cities. Craigslist erotic services postings totaled 97,243 in New York, 27,174 for Los Angeles and 7,435 for Chicago in a similar timeframe.

    craigslist’s resident mouthpiece had the usual to say.

    Craigslist relies on its users to report posts that are deemed inappropriate, wrote Susan MacTavish Best, a spokeswoman for the Web site, in an e-mail response to questions.

    The Web site’s staff is not legally obligated to monitor the millions of posts it receives each month, but it does remove prohibited content – anything unlawful or pornographic, according to MacTavish Best.

    Police occasionally come knocking about posts.

    “We are contacted by law enforcement from time to time,” MacTavish Best wrote, “and Craigslist cooperates fully with the police and other authorities.”

    Yet they keep their erotic services section up and running and continue to facilitate in all forms of prostitution and possibly human trafficking.

  • A politician finally notices craigslist

    Mayor rips craigslist over child prostitution:

    Finally, a politician has noticed the wretched hive of scum and villainy that craigslist has become. And if anybody knows anything about scum and villainy it’s the mayor of Atlanta, Shirley Franklin. (That was a dig against the city, not necessarily the mayor.) Anyway, she has come out against craigslist accusing them of being facilitators in child prostitution.

    “Children are being marketed through craigslist,” Franklin said Tuesday during an update on the mayor’s “Dear John” campaign, a crackdown on the city’s child prostitution industry.

    Craigslist, found on the Web at craigslist.org, may be best known as a bulletin board for people who want to sell a car, buy a home or meet people. But Atlanta vice officer Kelleita Thurman said Tuesday that craigslist and similar sites account for 85 percent of the sexual liaisons men arrange in Atlanta with boys and girls.

    In a letter sent Tuesday to the company, Franklin said the site could do more to prevent itself from being used “as a means of promoting and enabling child prostitution.” She called on the site to revise its warning on pages for erotic services and personal ads and to remove postings that offer sexual services for sale, among other things.

    As usual, craigslist had their same non-answers…

    Craigslist spokeswoman Susan MacTavish Best said in an e-mail that she and Chief Executive Officer Jim Buckmaster are in Europe and “neither of us are aware of such a letter so it would not be possible to comment about this.”

    Company founder Craig Newmark, who also was mailed Franklin’s letter, no longer is involved in the company’s daily affairs and is traveling, Best said.

    Maybe this is the first step in politicians recognizing what a crime-filled scumhole craigslist’s erotic services section is.