UPDATE: There seems to be some debate in the websphere about whether Craigslist asked Google to stop indexing its pages as reported earlier. Moreover, this article suggests that Craiglist’s position vis-a-vis padmapper is very weak. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/08/craigslist-reportedly-blocks-search-engines-to-kill-competitors/
I wondered Monday morning why there were so few updates on Craigers and Searchtempest. Well, now I understand why. The following was posted on Craiggers Monday Night:
“At approximately noon on Sunday August 5th, Craigslist instructed all general search engines to stop indexing CL postings — effectively blocking 3taps and other 3rd party use of that data from these public domain sources. We are sorry that CL has chosen this course of action and are exploring options to restore service but may be down for an extended period of time unless we or CL change practices.”
As my father often says, “this is a problem.”
Even worse, Craigslist has sued padmapper and 3taps, while also changing the posting license. According to this article, “Essentially, the new terms allow Craigslist to pursue anyone caught posting (or hosting) an ad already displayed among its classifieds elsewhere on the web. Under copyright law, the company cannot claim ownership of core “facts” within each ad — things like an item’s price, the location of an apartment, and other basic information can be freely duplicated. What Craigslist can say it holds copyright over is the posting as a whole including description, photos, and other information.”
So, I will spend Tuesday with my kids and figure out what changes I need to make starting wednesday.
You can learn even more about this problem here: http://www.bendbulletin.com/article/20120805/NEWS0107/208050321/
I still don’t understand several things, like why craigslist cares. Most users would probably prefer their ad to been seen on a more national scale. Second, how is that craigslist does not create the description, that’s done by the users, yet claims copyright over it?
I dont ever look at Craigslist anymore, I dont like them. Ewillys is the most I ever cross paths with them. I don’t know about other large metropolitan areas but where I live, we have a nice classified ad network via the local tv network.
Goodluck Dave.
Try this site. It is a national craigslist search.
http://ponyforums.com/craigslist.php
I Never use craiglist because I can’t do a world wide search ( and all the spam… ), If I lived in AR and was looking for a vehicle near me but nothing showed up in my local area I would not take the time going through each area / state! A World wide search would give you the option to say “6 hours! Oh that is too far or Thats only 2 hours away!” Makes it convenient fast and you are done.
Is craiglist loosing money from websites like craiglook because they take adds from them?
Brett: From my experience, the success of the SLC Valley site (the name of which I’m spacing at the moment) is unique for several reasons. It is a useful tool.
James: That site uses Google’s indexing, so it will be affected if Google stops indexing craigslist ads like craigslist has requested.
Zack: I do not believe this is about money. Craigslist makes millions using a very small team (under 20 people the last time I checked). I believe this is about control of their content. Craigslist is very community focused. The problem with this is they are attempting to enforce the definition of community based on their craigslist cities/regions.
I spent the morning thinking about this and I believe using the existing rss feeds produced by Craiglist I may be able to create an effective tool for my own use. Given that I rename, retitle, and add my own information to the posts I produce, the result could be that I/we can continue to build on our community.
That’s my thought at the moment … off to play some frisbee golf ….
Dave-
I don’t really understand all the computer stuff, but reading the article, I could see where you might be able to re-write or re-organize the stuff you get off craigslist and re-use it. I think a knowledgeable attorney who works cheap might be able to give you some good advice, but I don’t know any good lawyers and I definitely don’t know any who work cheap!
Good luck, my friend!
Colin
Craigslist is 1/3 owned by Ebay. They don’t like people putting up free ads searched all over the country.
This is one of the reasons craigslist doesn’t have a national search on their site.
This is going to make more people trying to sell things use Ebay to get national coverage.
Both Craigslist and eBay need some new competition, somebody to shake them up a bit.