Craigslist Agrees With State AGs To Curb "Erotic Services" Ads 402
The New York Times reports that Craigslist has reached an agreement with 40 state attorneys general to tame its notoriously unruly "erotic services" listings. Clever diplomacy: according to the article, Craigslist "said that it will charge erotic services vendors a small fee for each ad — about $10, Mr. Buckmaster said — and require that they use a credit card for the payment. It will donate the money to charities that combat child exploitation and human trafficking. This, theoretically, will let the company confirm not just a phone number but also an identity." I hope they work on cleaning the weird spammers from the ordinary personal ads, too.
Re:Censorship (Score:5, Interesting)
Even more mind-boggling is that making porn movies is legal. So it's only illegal if one of the people gets paid and the other doesn't.
I've always wondered about these... (Score:3, Interesting)
Anybody know what's up with these? Aren't these just scam artists, fake, criminals, or just plain old fashioned prostitutes?
Re:Censorship (Score:4, Interesting)
I'll pay $100 if you:
Contract a performer that I represent for a $50 fee.
Star in an art performance with the performer (who may or may not be me), in which you give him a blow job.
Drum up some paperwork at legalzoom.com and it's air tight.
Re:Censorship (Score:4, Interesting)
*porn* is not protected by the first amendment. *adult films* are.
Not that i agree, but thats how the supreme court ruled long ago. Its why they have to have a plot ( however thin ) and a dialog ( however small )
Analogy to copyright? (Score:3, Interesting)
What is wrong with the whole damned thing is this: prostitution is illegal, even though there are no victims for this crime, and I don't care what you think about how there is illegal activity all through the sex industry, it would not be nearly as prevalent if it were a legal business for which folk could lose their license if they were doing bad things.
Likewise: What is wrong with the whole damned thing is this: commercial infringement of copyright in orphaned works is illegal, even though there are no victims for this crime, and I don't care what you think about how there is illegal activity all through the publishing industry, it would not be nearly as prevalent if it were a legal business for which folk could lose their license if they were doing bad things.
Re:Useless (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't have first-hand knowledge, but I'm pretty sure that the smarter prostitutes pay income tax anyway, and list their occupation as something legal. You pretty much need a bank account, especially if you're in a job that dangerous. That's a paper trail; vice cops are one thing, but the IRS is a beast nobody wants to tangle with.
Of course, it's easy to tax brothels. I believe that one of the reasons why the Nevada cathouses have never been shut down is the fact that so much of the municipal government's revenue comes from taxing prostitution. Brothels, of course, have their own unique problems, though.
Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:I'm kind of suprised ... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:back on the streets (Score:5, Interesting)
Get real. Minimum wage workers in most places don't have to put up with being beaten on a regular basis, not to mention risking their life on daily basis to do their jobs.
I don't have numbers to back up how many craigslist prostitutes get "beaten up on a regular basis" and I bet you don't either.
In any case, coal miners risk their lives on a daily basis, and workers in such dangerous jobs often get paid more to risk their lives. Kinda like prostitutes.
Re:Personal ads (Score:3, Interesting)
No spammers on the personals? Really? Have you looked lately? Or even posted an ad?
I've had some pretty decent results on craigslist. Lately it's all spam. Try posting a regular ad in any of the personals sections. Proceed to wait about 24 hours, and then watch the spam roll in. It's all dating site spam in the form of "I can't give my number out, so visit my site at getahotdate.com"
The best luck I've had on craigslist was when I bought a car ski rack from a girl who posted a for sale ad... now we're dating.
Re:Sarcasm (Score:3, Interesting)
*seconding the "who brought up rape?" sentiment*
Surely you're not a Feminazi who calls *all* sex between a man and a woman rape? (Yes, they exist. See: http://users.livejournal.com/_allecto_/34718.html?thread=148382#t148382 [livejournal.com] )
Re:Sarcasm (Score:3, Interesting)
Either that, or they'll become legitimate businessmen. Seems like everyone wins, no matter what, eh?