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The Web's Most Controversial Sites

by Leila Brillson on June 4, 2009 at 02:01 PM



Site in question: Craigslist.org, a community-based classifieds site for furniture, jobs, and potential serial killers. Last month, the famed "Erotic Services" section was scrapped after lawmakers protested it was nothing more than an online brothel.

The Controversy: We don't know about other cities, but in New York, the supposedly non-erotic-services M4W ads are a step below prostitution (using code words like "generous" for johns and "roses" for dollars to get around the Craigslist monitors). The simple, message board-like construction of the site means that you have the freedom to post, well, anything, selling whatever you have to sell. From yourself, to a sea serpent, to a cat bus.

The Verdict?: Controversial, but not illegal. But it is a great example of what humanity is capable of unchecked. While we can condemn the site for creating dangerous scenarios, it's the people that choose to answer a level 8 ogre-mage. Craigslist is terrifying, but so are singles ads, dating sites, the subway....

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