Monday, June 20, 2011

Okay, we need to work together to avoid this in the future.


Dear fellow photographer/videographer/DJ/caterer in the LA market of Craigslist...
Approximately since June 3rd or 4th a lot of us, in the above professions are systematically being flagged down in the Los Angeles>services>event section of CL, to the point that we can no longer effectively advertise our services. Most of us are low-cost to medium priced professionals, trying to make a living and feed our families, and do not have money to spend on online advertising. We rely on CL’s free ads to get a good portion of our business.
Even though a lot of us had been flagged intermittently at one time or another in the past, since the 3rd or 4th of June, the flagging has been systematic and in most cases very fast. Most of us get flagged within 5 to 10 minutes of posting. This does not seem to happen in any of the adjacent markets, like OC, etc, but only in LA. What we are certain of, is that whoever is doing it, is not doing it randomly. It is DELIBERATE, CALCULATED and SYSTEMATIC. Whoever is doing it is staying online for very long hours, and must be using software, because to flag someone randomly takes time (as many different people must flag an ad from different IP addresses, in order to be removed) and most of us are getting flagged within minutes. He/she may be even be using some web service that alert him/her to keyword changes in the page (Los Angeles>Services>Event) where we post.
At the beginning it was mostly videographers and photographers who were getting flagged, so most of us assumed it was a competitor videographer or photographer. Then we noticed some DJs were asking for the flagger to stop. Then some caterers. And a couple of days ago we noticed somebody from a band complaining about the flagging. We don’t know who is doing this, i.e. if it is a photographer or videographer who is also flagging DJs and caterers just to throw people of his/her trail or somebody else. It has also been suggested it may be an outsider, someone connected with selling online advertising, trying to force people off of Craigslist and back to paid advertising. At this point we are looking into every scenario, however far-fetched.
The fist logical step, of course, is to go and complain to Craigslist. A lot of us –if not all of us—have already done that, and we encourage everyone to go and register a complaint at Craigslist abuse dept. But as you know, Craigslist has hundreds of thousands of posts every day, and it is run by a small staff of programmers out of SF. Past history shows they don’t get involved in individual disputes, especially since this situation happens in the free ads sections which does not affect their income.  If we manage to get CL’s attention, we are not sure how they can help us either.  A few years ago, when you were flagged you could repost, which is no longer the case. Maybe that would help us, as the flagger, even with using software, would have to be constantly flagging the people who would be constantly reposting and it would be much more difficult for him/her to succeed.
This has affected our bookings, so we will not sit idle by and let one stupid person make it harder for us to make a living. Unless we find a fair solution for all of us, the only remaining option will be the “nuclear option.” Everybody flagging everyone.  So, if this affects your business, join us to find a fair solution, because the option to have some people post and most getting flagged is not acceptable to those getting flagged.
Keep in mind that the flagger will probably also read this. It doesn’t matter. We cannot let one greedy, stupid individual terrorize the rest of us and take money out of our pockets, at a time where most of us are struggling to survive. We will find a solution. Inaction is not an option.  The livelihoods of a lot of us are at stake. Hell, the internet brought down the government of Egypt and sparked revolutions in half of Africa. We should be able to take care of this one stupid person.

314 comments:

  1. Thanks for starting this blog. I have done many tests and the software this person is using is based on keywords. I can not explain why some people are getting away with their posts not being taken down and not others though.
    My suspicion is that it is someone who has contacted a lot of us about buying ads and search engine optimization and called a lot of people who post about wedding services on Craigslist. Until we can prove that that is who is doing it, we must continue to take notice of trends and who is getting flagged and who isn't.

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  2. There is a strong feeling that it is visioneer media, we need to make posts telling clients about their unethical business tactics and poor quality of work.

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  3. I don't think it is Visioneer Media. I have been in contact with the guy and personally don't think it is him.

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  4. There are obviously sick people out there who have no morals:
    http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/sks/2449719453.html

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  5. I don't think the person who's doing it is sick. It's a ruthless calculated move to some end. Either to eliminate his competion or to drive people out of CL to paid advertising.

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  6. Thanks Kenu for this blog as my complaints to CraigsList are getting nowhere.

    I agree with Sagedrummer that the flagging is keyword based because the posts that are surviving are using images instead of text, and what little non-image text that is used do not mention the words photograper or photography. Which could explain why related businesses like caterers would get flagged if they have the word photography anywhere in their text.

    It doesn't appear that the flagging software is targeting keywords in the title so in theory you could say whatever you want in your title and embed an image in the post instead of text.

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  7. Hi,

    This is not only unfair but as it is happening to all of us it is a breach of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

    If we all point that out to CL I believe that will inspire them to get to the bottom of it. Also if this a-hole has figured out a way to poison CL it will go viral and threaten CL's reputation/integrity.

    Also clearly anybody whose add is sticking is a suspect.

    Otherwise, why would it not be happening to them? Regardless of how they sound on the phone...if they are keen enough to pull this off obviously they would be keen enough to lie convincingly.

    The question is how many ip's does it take to flag/delete?

    Has anyone spoken with a CL representative?

    Please forward any info to me as like all of you I am depending on CL as a main source of marketing. I have to make this a priority and if we stick together I believe we will have better success.

    Thanks in advance.

    Best,
    John
    jjr310@gmail.com

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  8. He actually went over to OC and took down an entire's month's posts yesterday!

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  9. This morning he deleted ALL posts back to May 27th in the Orange County Events Category. My band has been beeing flagged in LA, OC, Ventura and Santa Barbara for MONTHS!!!

    If you google Craiglist Spammer there are companies selling software that advertise ways you can take down 50 posts at once while hiding your IP address. So now I am very discouraged that unless Clist takes action themselves, there is no way to fight this.

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  10. This is getting absurd, we must do something to stop this illegal activity. Is anyone making a list of whose posts that contain "wedding videography" or "wedding photography" stand for more then a day?

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  11. We have basically lost 80% of business because of what is going on. Just like the rest of you the extra money coming from the CL gigs we get helps us get by.

    We are true professionals being forced to take jobs even if we shouldn't be. My small freelance business is slowly becoming once again just a hobby, and it isn't a way to be living.

    I am willing to sign any petition needed to go to CL's office in SF.

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  12. Hello Craigslist Posters,

    as of today I will stop removing your Ads. I only ask for you to flag all DJ ads. These idiots have been overspamming too long and it's time we put an end to it. I only ask of you posters to post 1 ad per day and make it fair enough for the small people to be seen as well. if i start seeing overspamming of photographers over posting I will start to remove your ads as well. best of luck

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  13. I hate that you feel the need to set rules on your own behalf. My ads have only ever been posted once per day because of the same respect I feel most of us except you have for one another. Yet you still remove them. Yes there are always the other few that seem to be not in this category but that shouldn't make it ok for the rest to suffer.

    This seems so childish and high school to me. You might as well be a 15 year old for all we know. It's getting ridiculous. If you aren't getting Jobs it's because your ads aren't clever enough to keep people reading, or well your work isn't as up to par to other people posting on craigslist.

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  14. very clever Mr. Cubbieownsyou. I take it you are very dumb to make comments like that. especially knowing that I do have the control to remove your ads. I hope you are proud of yourself for being a true idiot and calling me childish... just for that you i think i will just go back to remove all ads. everybody you can thank "cubbieownsyou" for being a true idiot.

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  15. Craigslistflag,
    I please ask that you let photographers and videographers keep 1 ad up in the event section. I am a struggling videographer and only post 1 ad in the event sectionevery day. I have taken a significant hit to my business in the past month because of this and am not in the DJ business. These people just want to have the chance to post in the Event section without being removed. Please lets call a truce and ease up on the the Photographers and Videographers who are not threatening your DJ business.

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  16. okay Photographers I went ahead and stopped flagging your Ads. spread the word around and let your competitors to only post 1 ad per day and make sure you don't blog and spam events categories.

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  17. Hey Sage, why are you pleading and trying to appease this jackwipe? It's ok for this kid to attack businesses as long as it's not yours? How about nobody bows down to this 13 year old loser with no life? If all the ads come down and stay down, craigslist will eventually take notice and fix the problem. Or go ahead and stroke this asswipe's ego which will just make him leave you alone for a few days until he gets another chip on his shoulder or another ugly girl turns him down and he decides to take it out on the world again.

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  18. thanks for inspiring me DJwedding. thanks for sharing me your thoughts. It's a shame your Ads will never come up because your days are over on craigslist. I will not allow anymore DJ Ads because of assholes like you who think it's okay to overpost and spam. asswipes like you need to be taken down and that's exactly what I will be doing. as for the girl turning me down, you are right on the dot my friend. any advice?

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  19. If I go, so does my competition making it a net benefit for a well-established vendor like myself. Hell, I have started flagging all the DJ ads myself. Hey, everybody, let's join in! Don't just flag the DJ ads! FLAG THEM ALL! If we do this - craigslist will have to solve the problem once and for all so that no one person can do this kind of crap to any of us and there will be no reason for a forum like this. Or just wait until Hitler Jr. gets you back in his sights.

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  20. Below is an email that is going out to everyone. We need to reach out and contact by email or phone, those who have been affected by this cowardly, malicious act.

    Just copy and paste text below. Save it as a draft. Help get the word out. You might even send it to the flagger. Doesn't matter. Frankly, he/she simply put... are operating with no conscience to speak of.

    The perpetrator will continue, as we've all witnessed until they are stopped. Hopefully in the end, being banned from ever using Craigslist again.

    Heck, the other night they went postal. Wiping out the entire month of June back to January 2011 in the Orange County Event Service section. They're on a power trip... playing dictator.

    Last time I checked... this is still a free country. So we can let our voices be heard, our signatures be seen until we with the help of Craigslist put an end to this.

    Sincerely -

    ______________________________________


    Hi,

    If you have noticed your ads/posts being flagged on Craigslist, please read this blog. Feel free to pass it along.

    It's been going on as the blog will explain since June 3rd... 24/7 - NON STOP.

    I received an email from someone who noticed my adds too were being flagged.

    The person or persons behind this are using auto flagging software, targeting specifically videographers, wedding photographers and at the time DJ's in the Los Angeles event services area then moving into Orange County and now just about anywhere they please. They most likely flag their own ads so as to not look suspect. Or they might allow others to remain standing so they may appear suspect.

    To date this person has become more brazen taking out the entire month of June back to January 2011 in the Orange County event services area.

    I am sending you this email because I believe everyone should have an equal opportunity to use CL without being harassed or flagged by sinister competitors with one goal... elimination of your post = more work for them.

    A cowardly act. Period.

    There is a prime suspect who always seems to remain standing. However, there is zero proof with the exception of a gut feeling, a few phone calls, observation and what we see.

    In closing, having talked with other concerned professionals, the only conclusion seems to be that we...


    1. Draw up a petition with our signatures stating the current problem.
    2. We walk the signed petition into Craigslist office headquarters in San Francisco.


    If this is something that concerns you, your business or your very livelihood, we are asking you to add your voice and or signature to the petition.

    Please feel free to respond to this email with any thoughts or ideas you may have.

    Thank you -


    Blog: http://stopthelaclflagger.blogspot.com

    ______________________________________

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  21. craigslist can't ban someone, just an email address which anyone can have a million of. This will continue until CL takes it seriously enough to fix the flagging system, and as long as this little ass-worm just does it sparingly - attacking just one group of businesses at a time, it stays off cl's radar for the most part. Everyone needs to click the ABUSE link for CL and send them a message. If they get flooded with enough complaints about something, history does show they will eventually fix the problem.

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  22. Hey flagger

    I have a couple of questions for you?

    a) What is it going to take for you to stop this?
    b) Have you thought this through? If you are a vendor in LA, as everything points to, photographer, videographer, DJ, whatever, you do understand that it's not up to you to decide whose ad stands and whose gets flagged. For the simple reason, as DJwedding said, that the people who get flagged are going to do the same thing you're doing. They're going to get the same software you're using and they're going to flag everybody else down. So everybody loses, including you.

    So, what needs to happen for you to stop?

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  23. Hello i tried also to post an add just with picture and i still get flagged, so that is not a solution, i don't use the words photographer,videographer, DJ caterer etc.. and still get flagged. We need to get together as take this to TV news or authorities some craigslist take action and solve this problem. After all this is LA and im sure between all of us we can connect with ppl in the entertainment business TV, RAdio etc.. and make sure this problem gets public so we can finally go back to work.
    I did get calls for paying sites but maybe is just another competitor flagging we need to look in every case. i know if this keeps going on everyone will start flagging everyone but there are some post repeated over and over that don't get flagged i will encourage to do the same to this posts just in case. Sometimes you have to fight war in the same way: Eye for an Eye

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  24. ohh im willing also to sign the petition for the headquarters and someone told me last time this happened about 5 months ago that it takes 3 IP address to flag a post

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  25. to the flagger, you have been flagging me over and over when i have only posted once a day or less, if you've seen my add more than once is only because i have to keep reposting due to your flagging and you know very well you flag everyone no matter what business they are in.

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  26. And yes, to chime in with djwedding, CL cannot ban him/her because they don't know who he/she is. He's not logged in to CL when he flags.

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  27. I don't know if this is the clflagger, but the most widely-used software for flagging at http://www.craigsflagger.com/ has been pulled by the author for "user abuse." This person does give their email address though and it is (and you can get this for yourself at the website so you know I'm not just trying to get people to spam this guy) clflagger@gmail.com . I don't know of what use this information may be, but if anyone on this board is smarter than me (and I'm betting the majority of you are) hopefully this helps.

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  28. anyone knows how to make a link to a website from a picture? i've realized most adds with pics that link to their site survive this idiot

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  29. This is ridiculous. Every single one of my posts have been deleted. I've posted on CL for a long time along side other vendors and never once felt threatened by the competition. I would rather a client go elsewhere than come to me because I'm their only option.

    The person who is flagging must be doing so at all hours of the day and night. Creepy and sad. If you aren't getting the work, them maybe you need to think about the fact that maybe you aren't that good.

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  30. wow. I am the idiot... let's not forget I am the master mind and removing all of your fucken ads. so that will make you the fucken idiots. go ahead and remove this post again djwedding fag. I will just continue removing your ads. you tell me I am not following the craigslist rules. you assholes are over spamming and it's about time someone removes your fucken ads. you dj faggot spammers are done. your craigslist posting days are over. who is the idiot now

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  31. wow. keep making negative comments like that Red Door and your ads will get flagged all the time. do you fucken idiots realize the more trash talking you fucken do, the more I will continue this. get smart and start following the craigslist rules assholes. 1 ad every 48 hours.

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  32. some of us do that and you still flag, event if we are not DJs so apply the same rule to you and stop flagging people who follow the rules. As i said before if we over post is because you keep flagging, so you are the reason we have to break the rules, think about that too.

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  33. and one more thing, why you don't flag some adds that are posted over and over 10 times or more, and you should also leave everyone else have a job; besides the caterer business has nothing to do with DJ's so they are not your competition

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  34. So, flagger, can you answer my question. What are you hoping to gain from this? I mean sooner or later everybody will get the software you're using, everybody will be flagging everyone and you won't be able to post either.

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  35. Craigslist
    1381 9th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94122-2308 (415) 566-6394 ‎

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  36. Well, we all know CL's address Red Door. Would you care to be a little more specific as to what course of action to take?

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  37. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  38. so flagger!!!! There is nothing you can do to flag here so you must feel pretty dumb and useless knowing you can not do anything about it.
    I guess you are not that smart after all, you are simply pathetic and FYI im not event pissed anymore now im having the time of my life posting here trying to help other people, sorry if i use the word "Help" as that is probably a word your brain can not understand.

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  39. lol. now why would I want to flag these post? I enjoy reading all the comments you idiots have to say. the best part is when you talk all your trash but at the end of the day, YOUR FUCKEN ADS are still not on craigslist. wow clproblems you are pretty good detecting that I am a male. I would keep your day job becuase your method of knowing sucks... for all you know i can be a female as well but I will leave that to you to decide. best of luck to you idiots....

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  40. So, flagger, us being idiots and you being the "master mind" genius you are, you still haven't answered my question. If everybody gets the software you're using, or even starts flagging everybody else's ad manually, which will happen sooner or later, how is YOUR ad going to stay up?

    Moreover, I haven't seen anyone from the CL regulars post more than once or twice a day. So, instead of doing this completely self-destructive thing, since you ultimately won't be able to post either, wouldn't it be easier to just ask a couple of people for a couple of extra phone numbers, so you post once or twice a day as well? If your ultimate goal is to level the playing field, wouldn't this be logical? Because with what you're doing pretty soon they won't be a playing field at all.

    Oh, and lastly, how's your business since you started this, has it picked up at all?

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  41. Oh, and djwedding can you please email me at

    kenuju11@gmail.com

    I'd like to discuss a couple of things with you.

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  42. things are actually good for me. I still get alot of dj gigs through referrals. I've been a dj for many years and i have no use for craigslist anymore. so I don't post at all on craigslist. as for the software that I am using it is owned and created by me. so you can try to manually flag every single ad if you wish. i really don't care. as you've seen before depending the mood I am in i will remove all ads but i do admire the other people that post on craigslist. who i really hate are you dj and photography people. your posting days are over on craigslist.

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  43. So, if I got you right, you won't let photographers or DJs post, correct? But in fact, you are letting some photographers and some DJ ads get by.

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  44. And just to understand this. Things are good for you, even in this economy, you can afford to pay your bills and your rent, and yet you're doing this anyway? For what, for fun?

    Because let me tell you, things are not good for a lot of us and you're making things worse. You're harming people you don't know and who have done nothing to you. And when I say "harming," people don't have enough to pay their rent, or are borrowing money to feed their families, or are selling equipment just to get through the next month. And all because of you. People who advertise in CL are not rolling in the dough, they're barely getting by, and you are stealing money from their pockets, even though, as you say, you're not hurting.

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  45. look no one is stealing your money. you chose this to happen. if you can keep every dj and photographer in respecting the rules and only post 1 ad per day then we will not have a problem. unfortunatley not everyone is over posting but 80% of you are. so if you want to give it a try and see if dj's and photographers can come together and post 1 ad per day then I will stop. I beleive it will create apportunities for everbody to make money. if you can't follow those simple rules then I will continue to remove the ads. if you guys can agree on that and make sure everybody is followin the rules then i will agree in not flagging your ads. anybody that is not following the rules you can post there ad location (for example: http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/evs/2490574565.html) and I will remove there ad. I am sure you all can agree that it isn't fair for a couple of idiots to over spam craigslist and over blog your ad. let me know what you guys think and I will stop asap

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  46. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  47. My first thought on this is that in one of your earlier posts you said you wouldn't flag anyone who posted one ad per day, and the past two or three days, myself and others tried to post only once and we still got flagged.

    Now, here’s the reality of the Craigslist client. Most Craigslist clients find a vendor by doing a visual scan of the page, looking at the titles, not by typing keywords in the search field. If that were true, one ad every couple of days would have been plenty. But in the large markets like LA or OC, after a while your ad drops off and is not seen. I personally don’t know of any vendors who post more than twice a day. And posting twice a day in a large market is hardly spam, if you compare it with the hundreds of ads real estate spammers or car dealers etc post. It’s barely enough to get you seen. So how about you don’t flag anyone who does not post more than two ads per day per market (market being LA, OC, IE, etc). This way we can all get back to work and try to make a living. Oh, and I can’t promise you that people won’t post more than twice a day, I’m not the Craigslist police. I post my ad and try to get on with my day. But new people who don’t know the rules come in all the time and sometimes I see people posting one ad after another, which is a complete waste anyway. So, if you see someone posting more than twice a day, don’t go nuts and start flagging everyone again, just flag that guy. Is this something we can agree on?

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  48. ok i agree with kenu, but flagger again as im tired of mention i have nothing to do with DJ or photography and my adds still get flagged, so you don't leave any of us another choice than post over and over because you keep flagging, i agree if you see and add 2,3 or more times a day go ahead and flag is annoying and unfair for everyone else, but those of us who just post once a day leave us alone, you keep promising to stop flagging but you still flag adds that are there only once a day.

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  49. I am not going to monitor each ad and see who is over posting. just by looking at the ads you can see double ads. I will stop flagging all ads until people learn to post. I will agree to stop posting at 7pm. what i need you guys to do is post ads up and let people know that if they continue to over post more than 1 ad i will start removing all the ads again. and for your information most people seach ads by the search engine, not by scrolling. if you all agree with this i will stop flagging at 7pm. just make sure I see ads on inland empire, oc, and los angeles stating on what i said. if i don't see anything i will continue to remove every single ad.

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  50. Listen, I don’t have any authority to speak for everyone. I’m just suggesting a realistic agreement here, off the top of my head, based on observation.

    If you’re saying “if one person overposts, then I flag everyone” we’re back in square one, i.e. the nuclear option, where everyone flagged flaggs everybody else, we all suffer and nobody gets any work. There is no way to police this and we can’t all suffer if someone overposts.

    So, let’s see what other people on the blog think about this. But here’s my take on it. If someone posts three four times a day, it will catch the attention of everyone. First we warn that person and if they keep doing it, then we flag them. But if this is going to hold, we need to figure out a reasonable halfway point and warn the people who overpost before flagging them, but definitely not flag everyone.

    So, how about this. Two posts a day maximum, in each market, in the events section. If someone overposts people should get warned. Send them an email, letting them know that they’re overposting and if they keep doing it, which would be obvious, then flag them. The difference between one and two posts a day in the large markets is minimal, it’s certainly not spam and gives people some margin for error. We’ll make a post in the events section directing everyone to the blog to see what everyone thinks and even periodically make a post letting people not to overpost.

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  51. And to those people who emailed me, yes I think I know how Neville Chamberlain felt. Hey, I'm just making a last ditch effort before things get totally out of hand.

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  52. I could agree to that. it sounds pretty fair. gather up your people and have them post ads tomorrow morning around 8am sharp and spread the word to only post no more than 2 ads. at the end of the day it will benefit everybody and keep idiots from over spamming. email your competitors and spread the word. i will stop flagging by tomorrow 8am if i hear back you that this will happen. and fyi I don't appreciate you comparing me to hitler. remember hitler killed millions of jews. what I am trying to do here is make it fair for everybody to post. at the end of the day everybody will be happy except for the spammers.

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  53. http://sfbay.craigslist.org/cgi-bin/emailForm.cgi

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  54. Hey Red Door,

    stop being an idiot and passing information that is not going to give you any results. you must be one of the spammers huh?

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  55. What's with the name calling? You are one angry person. I am someone who posts simply several times a week (peak days) and my posts are now gone. Every one of them. Totally twisted to do this and especially wrong to punish people who abide by the rules. I feel bad for everyone.

    The best way to build business is to network and work WITH your competition. I've sent clients to other vendors when I was busy. Try being nice.

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  56. ok just came home from movies with my kids and checked events sections to see what's going on, every single add has been flagged no matter what type of business is, so FLAGGER...i guess you have decided either to be a completely hypocrite OR to start fresh by tomorrow 8am, HOPEFULLY will be the second choice, so if this is the case i must say i agree with you and kenu, let's post 2 adds a day max and if we see someone over posting then we flag them so this insanity doesn't happen again, we can all be happy and go back to our business.

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  57. Okay, to re-iterate our tentative agreement. I say "tentative" because I certainly don't speak from a position of authority over the people who post on CL. I came up with this proposal on my own, based on my own observations and random emails with different vendors, so we haven't taken a vote or anything. But my guess is that if you respect it and stop flagging, most people will find it fair.

    We agree that nobody will post in the events section more that twice a day, per market. In other words if somebody posts twice daily in LA, twice in OC and twice in IE, it falls with our agreement. (Again, based on observation, it may not even be an issue outside the big markets like LA or OC, since a single post in IE will probably stay on the first page throughout most of the day.) If somebody posts more than than twice, either out of ignorance or greed, people should first send him a warning on email, maybe even send him/her a link to this blog, so this person can read this entire discussion. If that person ignores the warning and continues posting more than twice daily, they can be flagged, but no blanket flagging of everyone in a section if one person does not abide by this.

    We'll make a post outlining this agreement tomorrow in LA, and probably OC and IE. I say "probably" because since most of us are running out of posting slots, we need to find enough people willing to give up posting slots so we can post this on all the markets. So give this a day or two to work, until we can post this enough for people to read it.

    Do we have an agreement?

    P.S. For everyone reading this blog, email me and let me know if you guys can give up a posting slot or two, so we can post this enough times in all the markets.

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  58. sounds good to me. be sure to post ads up in the morning telling people to post 2 ads per day. anybody who post more will get flagged. I will stop my softwares right now. I would like to see some post showing what we agreed on as well.

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  59. I will post the ad in LA in the morning, but again, give it a couple of days to work, until we find enough slots to post this enough for everyone to read it. Anybody who can give up a slot, feel free to copy it verbatim and post it in OC and IE so it can stay on the first page throughout the day.

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  61. Ok i'll do and agreed ill copy kenu's post and post it again so more people can read it and yes no problem flagger i'll add also that we have agreed with you to this term, at least the ones in this blog, i think we should put a link to this blog so everyone can realize what's going on.
    You see if we work together everything is better, isnt it? i really hope this works

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  63. Hey flagger, I tried to post as we agreed and you flagged me. This was the complete post.

    Since approximately the first week of June or so, a lot of photographers, videographers, DJs and other vendors in the EVENTS section of SERVICES in LA have been getting flagged daily and systematically. This has caused a lot of harm to our businesses, since most of us are not getting rich off of our Craigslist business, but are barely managing to get by. Without it, things became even more dire for a lot of us. Eventually, the flagging extended to OC and IE and other adjacent markets.

    We concluded that it was one person doing this systematically using software. We set up a blog trying to find a solution to this problem. A few days ago, someone claiming to be the flagger came to the blog and we managed to open a dialogue. He claimed he was doing it as a way to combat spammers and people who overpost. We don't know if the person who came to the blog is indeed the flagger, but he agreed to stop flagging, under the following conditions.

    a) Nobody will post in the SERVICES>EVENTS section of each market more than twice daily. In other words, you can post twice daily in LA, twice in OC, twice in IE, or other markets, but no more than twice daily per market. Craigslist rules actually forbid posting more than once per market every two days, but a lot of us have been posting daily or twice daily in the large markets, like LA and OC, in an effort to get our ads seen by those potential clients who do not do searches, but scan Craigslist's sections visually looking for vendors. We have not taken a vote amongst everyone posting on Craigslist, but based on observation and discussions among some of us (and also given the fact that technically this is well above CL's posting limits) we hope everyone will find it fair.
    b) If someone posts more than twice daily per market, they will be sent a warning over email. If they continue to ignore it and post more than twice daily they will be flagged. We have also agreed that in the case of one person violating these terms, no blanket flagging of an entire section will happen.

    The person who claims to be the flagger has agreed to these terms. You can read the entire discussion on the blog here:

    http://stopthelaclflagger.blogspot.com/2011/06/okay-we-need-to-work-together-to-avoid.html?showComment=1310539197014#c7027504416380382306

    We hope that he is who he says he is, that he keeps his word, this agreement holds and we can all get back to getting some business, so we can pay our bills and feed our families. Time will tell. Feel free to post on the blog, and copy this entire post verbatim and repost it to the SERVICES>EVENTS section of LA, OC and IE throughout the day so everyone can read it.

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  64. Hey guys, I don't mean to poo-poo the truce here (and I do applaud the valiant efforts of some calmer heads than me coming to the table) but I just had a peek at the events services section and the whole thing was brought down a little while ago. Far be it from me to point any fingers... I'm just sayin'

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  65. okay we are all set. my softwares stopped flagging the events services. I will comply to all of this but i find it hard to beleive that these dj idiots will comply. so please be sure to post ads on the even categories leading people to this blog. i hope this will work to allow everybody to be seen.

    best of luck

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  66. So why did you flag the post with the announcement last night?

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  67. because my softwares were still running. they have all stopped as you can see but i need you guys to post ads on craigslist letting people know (especially dj ads) that there ads will be removed if they post more than twice a day.

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  68. Okay, it's up. Again, I don't speak for everyone, but I think posting twice daily is fair, and most people on the blog and via email seem to find this fair. You need to lay off for a couple of days until we can repost this often enough for everyone to see. Anybody reading this, if you have available slots for posting, feel free to copy that post and repost it throughout the day, in LA, OC and IE. You might need to paraphrase the first couple of sentences in order to get by CL's reposting filter.

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  69. Again, people, you need to take it upon yourselves to post it in OC and IE, I posted in LA, but I'm running out of slots here.

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  70. Just like America to the world.
    I DO NOT MAKE AGREEMENTS WITH TERRORIST OR HACKERS OR PEOPLE TRYING TO BRING YOUR BUSINESS OR LIFE DOWN.

    NO AGREEMENT MADE HERE AND FLAG ALL YOU WANT YOU WILL GET CAUGHT AND BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE.

    YOUR DAY WILL COME!

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  71. Hey Unknown, if you don't like this agreement, by all means suggest a better one. Are you saying posting twice daily on each market is not enough for you?

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  72. Mr. Rivas

    I do believe when the sun comes out each and every morning everyone including yourselve has a right to make money and support your families and yourself. On any type of hobbies or employement or field of your liking. But I DO NOT and WILL NOT Consult with this flagger and let him bring my spirit down and right to do as I please. Are all of you going by his rules and living how he want's you to live? You are pretty much saying to him that you beg him and bow down and kiss his feet in his mercy and gave up on his way, his rules and his laws.

    I am a LEADER and this flagger will soon come down to all of our knees and ask for forgiveness and I am talking legally.

    This should not be taken as a threat it is simply a warning that if he doesn't stop his day will come. And you Photographers, Food Services, DJ's, Videographer bow down to him then you just as weak as he knows you are.

    I am not giving up I will post my adds whether they come down or not and he is not bringing me down in any way. He will only hurt himself. Every dog has his day.

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  73. Mr. Unknown:

    Even though we appreciate your leadership, let me point out the fact that this blog has been up since June 20th, and this is the first we have heard from you.

    Also, if you read the blog you'll see that he agreed to OUR proposal, which is to post twice daily, per market, which is also clearly over Craigslist's own posting limits, which are once every 48 hours and not across multiple markets. So, I would say this is a mutually agreed compromise and not bowing down to his rules. Whether he's going to keep his words, I don't know. But if he doesn't, we will obviously have to pursue another course of action.

    In the interest of making this short, let me repeat my previous question to you. Posting twice daily in each market is not acceptable to you? Nobody is asking you to give up posting your ads, but, practically have you found that posting more than twice a day, has a significant effect on your business?

    And by all means, we appreciate the rhetoric, but can you let us know, what actions and/or practical steps you have taken so far, legal and otherwise, to stop him? If you don't want him to read this, feel free to email me.

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  74. ok Mr unknown it seems that the flagger has agreed with us for one time so please don't mess up this and let everyone go back to our jobs, you don't have to post the agreement in CL if you don't want to but don't create more drama once we have come to a solution, We all need to pay rent and feed our families. Kenu reposting in OC now the agreement, hope it helps
    Ohh and one more thing Kitchen Angels is over posting so let's send him an email

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  75. Send him an email an a link to the blog.

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  76. Somebody post this in IE as well.

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  77. Don't worry about me breaking my agreement for the stupidity of one Mr. Unknown. He speaks so highly about taking legal actions but what laws have been broken... don't try to scare me with your legal issues but simply follow the craigslist rules. I think with all fairness we will all be able to post properly and avoid from spammers over blogging us. I guarantee my life that Mr. Unknown is one of the spammers and he is upset that his spamming days are over. What are you going to do Mr. Unknown contact craigslist and tell him that I am removing your ads because you are over posting? By all means feel free to do that.

    At the end of the day everybody will be able to prosper and make money.

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  78. I must say this is all coming together. perhaps we can use this blog to all communicate with each other and report spammers. contacting craigslist will do no good. but i can make sure these spammers get flagged. so let's communicate with each other and report people who are over spamming

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  79. flagger i think someone is flagging you or our intend to fix this, because i posted the add from Kenu about 1hr ago in OC and i still don't see it, but in my account it says active, so not sure what is going on

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  80. The ad is probably getting ghosted. It's the result of getting flagged a lot, CL is not making your ad active in the section, even though it appears active in your account panel.

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  81. Somebody else with free posting slots with a clean account try posting this in OC.

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  82. well, my ad just got flagged off and I only posted once today as I do every day. It did last half the day though.

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  83. It may not be him, I posted once in LA, IE, OC and they are all up. It might be somebody else. And I see most ads are up and some people are double posting, too.

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  84. maybe it's my deodorant

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  85. trust me. It's not me removing your Ad. Maybe someone else doesn't like you. If it was me trying to remove your ad it will be impossible because I have no idea who you are. all i know you by is DJ wedding. the postings are looking pretty good. ofcourse they are a couple of idiots who think they can pull a fast one on me. keep notifying me of any people over posting

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  86. hi yes DJwedding it may be someone else, with me so far so good, so i guess thanks to everyone for doing this possible, oh and i posted again Kenu's add so let's hope this keeps this way

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  87. I don't know djwedding, it doesn't look like the guy's flagging. I think everybody else's ads are up.

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  88. I'm a Belly Dancer who posts in the LA area, and I've been a victim of this as well... I am careful to only post once a week, but still, I've been flagged since early June as you all have discussed. I have reported it to Craigslist - hopefully they are taking note of all these complaints!

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  89. to the flagger. You say that you dont use craigslist to post your Ads and that you get business recommendations elsewhere so why do you care about craigslist ppl posting their ads if you have so much business coming your way?

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  90. @Bonethgkillah

    Is this really the issue here? You're actually asking the guy who's been flagging everyone anonymously for the past month or so, if he's lying on his résumé? :)

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  91. ok seriously??? since we had the agreement with the flagger everything seems back to normal and it looks the posts are ok, so Bonethgkillah what's the point of removing the past, just let it go and from now on let's start fresh so we can keep working.

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  92. Question: Thanks to our "friend" I'm getting ghosted on one of the pages. Completely wrong of this person to do this. How do I fix it?

    And I'll continue to recommend only the vendors that I know have some class.

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  93. Well i got flagged today twice. what's up with that? i don't think at all is the flagger i think now ppl is just flagging for no reason, that is soo unprofessional taking advantage of the situation and blame someone else for idiots who suck at their job and have to flag the competition to get work.
    Red that happened to me also, just open a new email address with a new phone number. you should be fine.

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  95. CL’s policies favor flaggers. So even if the flagger we’ve been dealing with keeps his word and stops the blanket flagging, as it seems he has for the past couple of days, there's no guarantee someone else won't flag you. DJwedding got flagged, apparently by someone else. Another guy tried posting our informal "agreement" in IE and the agreement got flagged! So, even though this agreement is clearly over Craigslist posting limits and --at least to most of us—seems fair, obviously there are people not willing to go along with it.

    Unfortunately, the only countermeasure any of us have against flagging, is ... well, flagging. Which ultimately hurts everyone. So, you can send a “friendly” warning and a link to this blog to someone who systematically overposts and after that … godspeed. The stupid thing in all of this is, that overposting doesn’t really have much of an effect on business. A few years ago, I tried overposting (and by “over” I mean five or six times a day) and it really had no effect compared to posting once or twice a day. Apparently when people see an ad too many times, they get annoyed and skip over it.

    As for the accounts “ghosting,” I had a few accounts, which I got by basically asking friends for phone numbers and they all got "burned" since the flagging started. But apparently, if an account gets flagged more than once or twice, CL’s system classifies it as a spam account, and you’re going to be asked for phone verification every time. Even if you do that, your ads might still be ghosted. So your best bet would be not to keep re-verifying the same account but to get new phone numbers and new accounts. But this is the least of your problems. If you’re out of friends or relatives who will let you use their phone numbers, you can get new accounts by buying new phone numbers online. Google "PVA craigslist" (PVA stands for Phone Verified Accounts) and you'll find people selling phone numbers for about $3.5 or a bit less. It sucks to have to do that, but this whole situation sucks. We’re just trying to find the option that sucks less.

    Bottom line, let's say the situation stabilizes somewhat and we're all able to post once or twice a day, as per our "agreement." Use the time to get some business, but also start developing traffic to your site from elsewhere. Because the main reason a lot of us -myself included- found ourselves in this situation, is that we put all our eggs in ... Craigslist's basket. In my case, it wasn’t really a planned strategy but the only option, because I could not afford to advertise elsewhere since the recession started. The downside to it, as we all witnessed, is that if one guy with flagging software goes nuts, he can break all those eggs.
    And again, even if the guy we've been dealing with here keeps his word and does not "blanket" flag, there's no guarantee somebody else won't buy the software and do the same thing.

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  96. Kenu I truly understand your situation. I am a man of my word and will keep my agreement and not use my software. I have noticed that over the few days the postings on craigslist has gone done for over posters not over posting. this is good for everybody. I doubt anybody well create or be able to purchase a software to flag instantly. It took alot of work and effort to brain master what I created and I have no plan on selling it or teaching it to anybody. I clearly did this because the even section was taken over by spammers and someone had to put a stop to it. at the end of the day it will benefit everybody. don't forget to post companies who are over posting and i will see to it to remove there ads.

    best of luck

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  97. There have been a few people who seem like they are over posting on purpose now. Please focus on them if you must.

    CLFlag...feel free to pay for my new phone numbers and lost events. I have school supplies and shoes to buy for my kids. Thanks

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  98. Well, flagger, I doubt you understand my situation. I’m looking at equipment that I bought with my hard-earned money, that I had to put up for sale, just to come up with enough money to pay my rent and cover my current bills. Before, I was barely getting by, but since you started this I haven’t even gotten any inquiry from a potential client. There are quite a few other people I’ve communicated with, who are not spammers, but just regular vendors, to whom you have caused similar tangible and quantifiable economic harm. To a certain extent, this is my responsibility, because I did put all my eggs in one basket –in this case Craigslist—and I left myself vulnerable to what you did. But even though I had been randomly flagged in the past here and there, I could not imagine that someone would go and blanket flag everyone for a month on end.

    I for one am relieved that you stopped flagging, and I don’t know how long this is going to last, but make no mistake, you have no friends in this blog. And this is the understatement of the century.

    So, if you are tempted to start blanket flagging again, think of this. Along with spammers, you are hurting average people trying to survive this recession. And even though you say you don’t need Craigslist to promote your business, whatever that may be, I’m willing to lay down money that you’re hurting your business as well. As far as the software, there is commercially available software that flag. There were other drastic options discussed among us if that went on, most of which would involve the expenditure of money and time and unpleasantness, if you know what I mean. So, again, this is the reality of what you did, and mull it in your head before you start blanket flagging again.

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  99. Red Door go ahead and tel me who is over posting.

    not sure what you mean by "feel free to pay for my new phone numbers and lost events"

    if I do recall you where one of the people who where over spamming. I know who you are Red Door!! go ahead and tell me who is over posting

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  100. Actually I wasn't posting more than twice a day. That's the sad thing. People who are playing fair are getting punished. It's lost money. CL has been a great way to advertise for those of us who can't afford to advertise on a grand scale. We've advertised alongside our competitors and it's worked out just fine. YES, I totally agree there are those who over post and it's really irritating. But I figure clients viewing their posts will see their desperation and go elsewhere.

    Best wishes to you all.

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  101. By the way, I'm not saying you're still flagging. I'm pretty confident it's others who are simply unsure of who it is and, therefore, are doing it too. What's done is done. Let's move on.

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  102. I post only once per day as I always have and got flagged pretty immediately today.

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  103. I hear you man, but it is possible someone else is flagging you. My posts are standing. Let's hear from other people and the flagger who visits here regularly.

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  104. I actually only see one DJ ad had survived today in LA events services and it is a recent (and very poorly done) posting. Someone is attacking the DJ ads again or maybe those getting flagged off are taking revenge. What did we accomplish here?

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  105. I think you're the only one reporting getting flagged for the past couple of days. I'm not saying this isn't a problem, but there are no other reports of people getting flagged for the past couple of days. Email other people and find out if they're getting flagged. Send them to this blog. Any other ideas people have, this is what this blog is for.

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  106. Kenu, go look for yourself. No DJ ads in LA events service section unless they have just been posted in the last few minutes. They are all coming down.

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  107. I see only one up. What do you propose?

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  108. Flag it! Just kidding. I have no ideas. I guess the moral of this story is for us all to build up our other sources of business and referrals networks and not rely so heavily upon one resource.

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  109. well im an event planner and my 2 adds got flagged today event if they offer different services and in different categories, and i have also been flagged since yesterday. It sucks because i do use CL sometimes to look for vendors last minute or when i don't have the vendors the client ask me, so whoever is flagging me ( and im pretty sure is not the flagger we all know) is hurting also him/herself as if clients don't find me i can't look for you guys and hire you as i have done before with DJ's among other vendors.
    I think now is to the point people is just flagging everyone, and it may be someone that doesn't like "our" agreement, that is doing this to start this war again, pretty pathetic.

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  110. I will say, I would prefer cl actually fix the problem so nobody can pull this stuff anymore rather than negotiating with a person who has found a point of leverage against us all. If everything were to be continually flagged off that board to the point to where it is just completely empty and useless for an extended period of time, my feeling is that cl would finally take notice and find a fix for the situation. That's a pretty extreme measure I think most of us would hate to implement, but it is an idea.

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  111. yes im still being flagged and im not event posting twice a day, i hate to do this but i guess i'll have to start flagging everyone else as well.

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  112. sorry to hear about your situation guys but it's not me flagging. someone let www.nowandforeverphotography.com
    know that he is over posting and I am adding him to the list to remove his ads. he has posted more than 2 ads in one day. if you guys find more ads that are over posting let me know. best of luck

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  113. good luck trying to flag every single ad. it would require you to set on your computer for hours and it will do know good. best of luck

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  114. Not sure what to tell you guys, this is a tough situation. And by "guys" I mean clproblems and djwedding. I don't think "our" flagger is flagging. I've been posting and my ads are standing, and since most of the other people on the blog are not reporting being flagged I have to assume he's not. It looks like the events section is fairly full for a Saturday.

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  115. i know this is not you flagger, but is someone is flagging my business then ill do the same to guys who have the same business than me, even if that means being in the pc for hrs. If people stop flagging my business then i will stop also. We all know this is insane and only hurts each other even more

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  116. So what's the deal with the DJ poster on the San Diego CL? He's posted like 30 ads.I'm all for taking this a step further if need be.

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  117. You don't think this actually turns people off? I think that's sheer stupidity. Somebody clicks on one ad, then they click on the next one, shopping around, looking for alternatives, and it's the same guy. I bet you people get so annoyed the guy blows the sale right there.

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  118. I completely agree. I just don't want our flagger friend to get bent out of shape and take it out on all of us.

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  119. Kenu i emailed you, and yes i agree over posting is really annoying and they blow the sale automatically.

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  120. @clproblems

    I haven't gotten anything from you. The email is kenuju11@gmail.com

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  121. I sympathize with clproblems and djwedding and their being flagged, but it might be random flagging from a competitor, which will never be totally eliminated from CL. I’m certainly not saying that as long as I’m not getting flagged it’s okay for some people to get flagged. I think everyone should have a fair chance at getting business here, based on the quality of their work. Having said that, people tend to forget that being on CL is not really a right, but a privilege. Craig created this free site, it took off and we have been using it to try to get business, since we can’t afford to advertise. But the current flagging system is CL’s deliberate policy. Unfair as it may seem to us, because it really gives the power to the flagger, it’s a conscious shift of CL towards allowing as few people as possible in the free ad section. A few years ago, you could actually repost if you got flagged. I was posting in another section and some idiot started flagging me and other people for no reason. Not only that but he would actually email us and taunt us. These days, once you get flagged that’s it. And then your account starts ghosting. Really the only recourse we have towards flagging is to flag back. Which again leads to the “nuclear option” of nobody being able to get any work at all.
    I’ve read all sorts of comments about what to do about this “problem.” Well, in our case the flagger came to the blog, we opened a dialog and we were able to negotiate an “agreement” that seems fair at least to most people on the blog. But of course, the power for one individual to wreak havoc on all the vendors is still there, and obviously that’s how CL wants it. One of the words that was thrown around when we were trying to find a solution, was to “petition” CL. But it never became quite clear what we would petition CL about, assuming we would get their attention. Would we petition them to change the flagging system to the old system where you could repost once you get flagged? Or to change or eliminate flagging in the events section? Somebody wrote “until CL deals with this problem.” Well, THE problem is that obviously CL does not see the current situation as a problem. If they did, those days that the flagger took down the entire events sections in LA and OC, they would have done something about it. But obviously they’re all about self-regulation and being hands off.
    Bottom line, if CL argues, “our site, our rules, it’s free ads, if you don’t like it fuck off” there’s not much we can argue against that. I read some big words while this was going on like “it’s federal offense, it’s harassment, it’s this, that, the guy is going to jail, the authorities have been notified, blah, blah.” It’s not federal anything, and if you want to talk “harassment” go to Youtube or any forum or any blog and you’ll see people cussing at people everywhere.
    However, CL is still a commercial entity and it is sensitive about their image in the media and public relations. There was a case a few years ago, that involved a prostitute or something, I don’t quite remember the details. But I remember Craig was interviewed on CNN by a young reporter who cornered him (and he was consulting every few minutes with a female lawyer of what to say) and as a result they did away with the “adult” section where prostitutes would advertise.
    My take in all of this is that if there is a hint of a possibility of CL doing something towards revising their flagging policy, would be if we could approach this from the angle of social responsibility. In other words, even though it’s their site, their rules and they don’t HAVE to do anything, they SHOULD do something because in fact, in this terrible economy a lot of people have come to rely on these ads to survive. If you guys have any connections to the media, tv something, make some calls to see if anyone is interested in doing a story on this. If they can fit it between important stories like Jlo and Marc Anthony separating and what Brittney Spears kids’ had for breakfast.

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  122. kenu, you are wrong and you know it. some ads have stood today, but friday and thursday all dj ads were flagged off. if it were just me, i would just take it that someone has thing about me. i'm not even complaining about it, just stating a fact.

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  123. Sorry, didn't read your whole post (it's really long). I meant wrong about me being singled out. I'm kind of over this whole thing anyway, just here because I'm DJing a long party right now and thought I'd check in. rock on.

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  124. Just looked now. Today ads (except mine) have stood, but Saturday, Friday and Thursday all DJ ads are gone. Once again, not complaining, just stating a fact. Perhaps they finally laid off.

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  125. I really don't know, you might be right. When you mentioned it to me I noticed that only one DJ's ad was standing. I just looked today and there are about six or so DJ ads up. So, what's your take?

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  126. Assuming "our" flagger isn't flagging, it's possible that there might have been residual anger from other DJs who didn't read the blog and didn't know that the situation was calming down and they kept flagging.

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  127. Oh, and are you calling me long-winded? Is that what you just called me? I'm going to go flag you just for that, damn it! :)

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  128. I got flagged today again and as I said I have nothing to do with dj,s my post lasted for a few hrs but finally it got flagged again so I will have to keep flagging until my adds are left alone. I'm pretty tired of this crap and have the same right than everyone else to post in CL. after all if I dont get jobs I have many hrs to kill in front of the pc, sorry but this is just how I feel so if the one who is flagging me is here know that probably I'm flagging you also, and if not unfortunately you leave me no choice than to flag innocent people. I'm not the bad guy here just trying to survive like the rest of us

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  129. I'm under the impression you're a wedding planner. Have you tried emailing the planners first with a warning? Even anonymously if you don't want to be further targeted. If one of the planners is flagging you they'll know who you are.

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  130. yes but what good is that, he/she will keep flagging me even if i ask them not to, whoever is flagging me is obvious he or she knows who i am, so what's the point? Is anyone else getting flagged? for what i've seen here DJ wedding and me are the only ones getting flagged

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  131. I can only go by what happened in our case, and in our case the quickest way to make this stop was to engage the flagger in some dialog. And we did it by putting a post up, and directing his attention to the blog. I don't know how many planners advertise per day, but I'm guessing not that many. I would say either email them directly asking them to stop, and letting them know that you can do the same, or make a post basically saying the same thing. If you decide to start flagging I would hope you won't flag indiscriminately.

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  132. no don't worry i won't flag DJ's, only the people who has the services i do, so wedding planners are my target but unfortunately it can be someone else as well so i hope i don't have to flag other vendors eventually, and yes maybe ill post on CL and see if whoever is doing this emails me back with an explanation. thanks

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  133. No DJ ads have survived today.

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  134. ClProblems your an idiot if you think you have the capability to remove every single ad but because of your actions and stupidity I will do the honors and remove every single ad till you learn to stop being a baby and realize your ads are probably being removed because you either suck at your business or you just really pissed someone off. so everybody thank clproblems and if you have his real identity make sure you expose him on here.

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  135. So, let me understand flagger, you're saying you're going to start blanket flagging again, because of one person's actions?

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  136. CLglagger First of all im not a baby im just trying to stay in business like everyone else, and yes i do have the capability to remove adds, it may take me longer than you but im willing to spend the time as long as i can't get any work, due to the flagging war. I never said it was you this time but now im thinking all the ppl complaining here probably it was you again. I guess you got pissed you got flagged well taste your own medicine.

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  137. As much as I hate to say it, if the whole board comes down and stays down, cl will be much more likely to fix the problem. Can everybody now see you can't strike a deal with a temper-prone child with a short fuse?

    You may appease the baby here and there, but only until he throws the next tantrum. This needs to be fixed on the craigslist side of things and unfortunately the only idea I have is blanket flagging as well.

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  138. Oh and in case you were wondering - the baby actually DID throw his tantrum and the whole board is down. I'm actually not having a problem with that at this point.

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  139. Hey, it lasted a few days, got a couple of emails for work through, back to square one.

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  140. Wow i just saw the whole week-end went down, so i agree with Dj wedding unfortunately at this point let's flag everyone until CL decides to fix this. sorry guys i think it has to get this bad until things can get better, at this point is the only solution. i do apologize up front for all the decent people i have to flag in order to possible be able to resolve this.

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  141. see this is why I think it's better just to remove everysingle fucken ad becuase dumb shits like you try to talkt your shit to someone who has the control. i think for now on I am just going to remove all of your fucken ads. djwedding and clproblems you fucked everybody. hope you are both proud of yourselves. good luck trying to cry to craigslist.

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  142. I tell you what I am going to just flag all dj ads and dj wedding ads for clproblems and i am going to leave it to you to remove all the other ads clproblems. you better pull your bed next to your computers because you are going to need it. by the time you are done your hand is going to hurt so much you will no longer be able to jack off buddy. I am going to enjoy watching you trying to remove every single ad. your an idiot

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  143. And the baby tantrum continues... waaaah! waaaah! Come and get me little man.

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  144. lol. just remember this baby is the one that has control over you my friend. Your dj posting days are over on craigslist. I am going to enjoy watching you try to post on craigslist. I guarantee you that at the end of the day i will be getting the last laugh. give me your real identity dj wedding and I will come pay you a visit.

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  145. flagger is you are so brave you are the one who should give the real identity we are the ones that will pay you a visit, and there is no way you can flag only djwedding and me as you have no idea who we are, so your only choice to get us, is flagging everyone else, and we will just keep flagging including you. You must have been flagged to get so pissed off, now you know who we feel

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  146. this shit head needs his lil pecker chopped off...until CL takes this issue serious guess ill resort to flagging just like others...sorry but point needs to be made...CL get ur heads outta ur asses and handle this shit

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  147. so just to clear things up...are you guys certain this is the douche flagger...or just taking his word on it and letting this fuck get his jollies??

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  148. yeah i say keep taking them all down....shit will give eventually

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  149. and now off to go buy this auto flagger program and join the fun...fuck all ads...if mine dont stick then nobodys will! you all should do the same...just may get CL's attention

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  150. Big words you have to say Mr. Unknown. Could you have thought of a better name then that? I take it you never finished school. Why don’t you learn how to type first before speaking out of your ass?

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  151. Hear Hear Unknown! Let's shut 'er down! Everybody, please help us out here. Flag everything until cl solves the problem. We would appreciate that very much.

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  152. Ya know, I'm totally onboard with the DJ and the Planner. Little Mr. Flagger obviously suffers from "Teenie Peenie Syndrome." I've met enough little boys like this to know. I'll help flag! Count the Fotokitten in!

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  153. thats right flag away ppl...soon enough CL website will be worth shit and maybe they'll do something!

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  155. The informal "agreement" we made was flagged down by someone. It doesn't really matter because the flagger did not keep his word anyway, but here it is again, in case anyone wants to read it.

    A lot of the regular vendors in the SERVICES>EVENTS section of Craigslist in Los Angeles have experienced this unprecedented flagging and removal of their ads for approximately the past five weeks. Since the 3rd or 4th of June or so, a lot of photographers, videographers, DJs and other vendors had been getting flagged daily and systematically. This has caused a lot of harm to our businesses, since most of us are not getting rich off of our Craigslist business, but are barely managing to get by. Without it, things became even more dire for a lot of us. Eventually, the flagging extended to OC and IE and other adjacent markets.



    We concluded that it was one person doing this systematically with software. We set up a blog trying to find a solution to this problem. A few days ago, someone claiming to be the flagger came to the blog and we managed to open a dialogue. He claimed he was doing it as a way to combat spammers and people who overpost. We don't know if the person who came to the blog is indeed the flagger, but he agreed to stop flagging, under the following conditions.



    a) Nobody will post in the SERVICES>EVENTS section of each market more than twice daily. In other words, you can post twice daily in LA, twice in OC, twice in IE, or other markets, but no more than twice daily per market. Craigslist rules actually forbid posting more than once per market every two days, but a lot of us have been posting daily or twice daily in the large markets, like LA and OC, in an effort to get our ads seen by people who do not do searches, but scan Craigslist's sections visually, looking for vendors. We have not taken a vote amongst everyone posting on Craigslist, but based on observation and discussions among some of us (and also given the fact that technically this is well above CL's posting limits) we hope everyone will find it fair.


    b) If someone posts more than twice daily per market, they will be sent a warning over email. If they continue to ignore it and post more than twice daily they will be flagged. We have also agreed that in the case of one person violating these terms, no blanket flagging of an entire section will happen.



    The person who claims to be the flagger has agreed to these terms. You can read the entire discussion on the blog here:



    http://stopthelaclflagger.blogspot.com/2011/06/okay-we-need-to-work-together-to-avoid.html?showComment=1310569235504#c5031726869771916635



    We hope that he is who he says he is, that he keeps his word, this agreement holds and we can all get back to getting some business, so we can pay our bills and feed our families. Time will tell. Feel free to post on the blog, and copy this entire post verbatim and repost it to the SERVICES>EVENTS section of LA, OC and IE throughout the day so everyone can read it.

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  156. Guys,I would really appreciate you guys not flagging my posts. I understand how everyone might feel about the cl flagger, but i just want to continue my business. Plus, I'm not sure how much craigslist is going to care what goes on in a free section. Please guys, if the cl flagger has stopped, why do we continue to fight him? My opinion is to not let emotions or anything personal into business. You guys are allowing him to let us destory ourselves, which I think is even worse before he started flagging.

    With all due respect.

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  157. dru, he hasn't stopped. He stops when you kiss his ass then starts again when people stop paying attention to him. I don't know what business you are in, but while some businesses have been allowed to remain, other categories such as mine are being flagged off continually. The only way to get cl's attention is to make the section unusable for all until they fix it. Sorry this affects your business, but how about you join with us. You'd be asking the same if it was your business category being singled out. And please know, that unless it gets fixed, it's just a matter of time before this little assworm sets his sights on you.

    "They came for my neighbor on the left - we did nothing. They came for my neighbor on the right - we did nothing. When they finally came for us, there was nobody left to do anything for anybody."

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  158. BTW - Please everybody flag the hell out of Kitchen Angels. They are spamming the hell out of the board and their ads are staying up. Judging from the misspellings in their ads, the fact that they obviously have no ethics and that they obviously have a lot of computer firepower at their disposal, I would say they are a pretty prime suspect for being our flagger. Can't prove it and don't know what their beef with DJs is (since DJs and caterers often refer each other). Just saying that they especially should be focused on regardless.

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  159. lol. what's wrong djwedding! I thought you said you were going to flag every single ad. now you need people to help you out. You are such a fucken pussy. I am going to make sure and see to it that your Ads will never post on craigslist. You might as well run to mommy. I enjoy how every week you try to reveal who I am. what's it going to be next week djwedding?

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  161. FLAGGING...FLAGGING AND MORE FLAGGING!!...

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  162. wow, my post still stands. I'm not going to lie, of course it was annoying to see EVERY post get flagged and deleted, but i'm not gonna cry over spilled milk. The clflagger has agreed to keep it cool if people only post once or twice a day. I only post once a day anyway, and hate anyone who does moreso, so I can see where the clflagger is coming from in that regard. At the end of the day, if I can continue to post once a day, every day in peace, then it makes no sense to continue to fight this, on either side.

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  163. well im still getting flagged, but i dont know if is because my account is being flagged so many times that it gets flagged automatically or because someone is flagging me

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  164. again if you have read thoroughly, you will see that he has not stopped flagging completely and does not abide by his "own" policies...there are ppl like myself and others that do only place a single ad a day and it gets flagged almost immediately. what bothers me the most is that some of you are willing to bow down to this shithead...its not the end of the world if my ads get flagged but then again i think its fucked up that this asshole think he's superior and feels its his duty to play the almighty role...well fuck him! hahaha...

    and he's already said that he rarely uses CL to get business so what is the point of flagging...clearly just to fuck with people and get his jollies...a loner, an outcast with low self esteem...and has absolutely nothing better to do...its evident.

    so i'll again...ill continue to flag as much as i can, in effort to make CL worth shit and then maybe they will take matters serious

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  165. I find it very amusing when Mr. UnKnown speaks out of his ass. I could see now why your ads are being flagged. it clearly shows you are a fucken asshole. No one is kissing my ass but clearly following the CL rules. It appears that you are bothered so much by it, I would assume that you are one of the idiot spammers who has been shut down by ME. well you can try to flag as many ads as you wish but eventually you will get tired and give up. As for me I can clearly see now that "EVENTS" looks alot better on CL. I have pretty much gotten rid of all DJ ads because that is where most of the spammers where coming from. It is unfortunate that I have to remove them all because they might be a few people that follow the rules but if this what it takes to keep from spammers over blogging then I have no choice. So pretty much Unknown, DJ Wedding (ryan) & CLproblems you can all go fuck yourselfs becuase your dj postings on craigslist are over. talk all the shit but at the end of the day you will not post one fucken ad on cl.

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  166. BLAH BLAH BLAH...LMAO...U MAKE NO SENSE BUT UR A GOOD TROLL, I GIVE YOU THAT

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  167. classic case of an internet thug lmao...all brave behind a keyboard, gotta love it

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  168. well if my adds dont survive then no one else's does, including yours flagger, so i will help djwedding, unknown and everyone else to flag until we can all post. You want war you are gonna have war until you decide to stop playing with people's lives.

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  169. lol. you think you have shit on me? well your fucken dumb if you think you do. just for that fuck your bullshit agreement. you can kiss event's section goodbye. everybody thank idiots clproblems, dj wedding and unkown. you guys are fucken weak when it comes to trying to flag ads.

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  170. The events service section is still standing and there are even a few dj ads surviving and thankfully my planning and photography ads as well. I guess the little boy on summer vacation doesn't have the weapons he claims...

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  171. Yeah, I noticed that. I think this kid's software may have either stopped working or only works somewhat. I don't think he has the ability to take down the whole section any longer.

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  172. give it another hour or two fotokitten then we will see what kind of weapons I have. you speak too soon. soon you will be crying and begging me to allow you to post back on.

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  174. My photography ad is still up. Good for me! I like it! I totally own the section now! Thanks flag boy! This might work out after all! Feel like meeting a real woman? I'll help you overcome your puberty! LOL!!!

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  175. oh no where did all todays ads and yesterdays ads go. could it have been me!! you idiots spoke to soon. by the end of the night every single ad should be gone. thanks for the offer fotokitten but i am actually fucking a real woman. ask clproblems, he should know because it's his wife who i am fucking. she would rather enjoy fucking a 11 inch black dick then clproblems 4inch cock.

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  176. seriously?....clflagger can you just target the people you hate? I really have no beef with you, I just want to post once a day. As for Unkown, and the rest, why don't you write and call the cl office instead of taking others down with you? It's amazingly selfish to flag my posts and say "dru, you should join us." Like I'm being forced to join your "union." Collectively, you are all just destroying everyone's livelihood at this point, like its a game. Like you all can afford to keep this up. I simply cannot....

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  177. Post once a day and mine is gone too. Thanks!

    Curious....why is it going to take til the end of the day to remove all the posts? Thought your "software" was faster.

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  180. I understand where you're coming from but is it ok for you to flag others so they "get involved"? Is it okay to drag others with you? If you want to use war-like ideas in the conversation, what you are doing would be similar to a draft.

    This isn't some theoretical discussion where you can say whatever you want to him, lowering yourself to combat him. Can't you see we're the only ones losing so far? And does insulting him really make you feel better, cause at the end of the day, your posts are still deleted. You could have the most spot-on insult ever, and we still lose. So please, stop with the petty insults.

    Besides, you have no idea if it was really him that flagged after he said he wouldn't. It very easily could have been other people still upset, because, my posts WERE standing last week.

    What you are trying to do would be the equivalent of Japan trying to continue the war after the bombs were dropped. It's just selfish. You can't win.

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  181. I'm sorry u feel that way but I'm just trying to be fare either everyone stays or not, I'm just defending myself he is the one who started this and the one to blame, and he is also the one who started the name calling so again just defending myself to have the same rights

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  182. Too many people who were only posting once a day, are having their livelihoods seriously endangered thanks to craigslistflag and those feeling the need to insult him. Do me a favor, at least take SOME responsibility for not making matters better, but worse.

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  183. Sorry but not taken as my life has been affected also.

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  184. Clproblems you can only blame yourself. You took it upon yourself to be the insulter when all I was trying to do is make it fair for everybody to post on here. My main goal was to get rid of all the spammers and it seemed for the past week it was working well. But you took it upon yourself to be such a fucken baby and accuse me of removing your ads. Did you stop to think that you could have easily pissed someone else off?
    If you scroll through this whole blog you can see it was actually you who took the first step into calling me an idiot
    "anyone knows how to make a link to a website from a picture? I’ve realized most ads with pics that link to their site survive this idiot “
    if you would have some common sense and realize by acting like an asshole with me will only bring negative things in return. You could have simple asked what needs to be done in order for the flagging to be stopped. Instead you took it upon yourself to be a fucken hero and decided to talk shit. Now look what you have done.
    Man the fuck up and realize it wasn't me removing your fucken stupid ads. Stop being such a baby and grow some fucken balls and admit your wrongs. Until the blogger removes this idiot from the blog I will continue to remove every single ad. Leave me your number clproblems and if you wish to speak like men in person I would love to do that.
    Until then everybody could blame this dumb fuck for having all their ads removed. I always enjoy how you are trying to guess who I am. First you thought I was one of your fagot dj competitors, now you’re accusing me of being a caterer. What’s next clproblems? Instead of trying to figure out who I am just do yourself and everybody a favor and shut the fuck up because your big mouth and affecting everybody.

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  186. I've been following this blog for a while now, and I must say I find it entertaining. Not the fact that this moron is making your lives difficult, but the fact that he's a complete idiot. He's an asshole with a pindick who's never gotten so much attention before in his life and he enjoys it. He's a high-school dropout who doesn't even know that "software" doesn't have a plural form. Did you notice how he wrote "I will stop my SOFTWARES right now?" You seriously think he can write software? I bet you he can't even write his own name without making a mistake. Don't start me with the "fucken" this and "fucken" that. It's "fucking" moron. And can you imagine what a loser he must be to be doing this? It's Craiglist, Graiglist for godsakes! Anyone can land a client, ANYONE, can land a client in Craigslist, even the most talentless people. And he can't! Can you imagine how shitty he is in whatever he thinks his profession is, that he can't land a client to save his life, and instead he does this? But the most hilarious thing is that you can manipulate him easier than a five-year-old. These two guys who threatened to go buy the software so they would go flag everybody else if he didn't stop, guess what, you didn't even have to do that!!! All you had to do was to prod him a bit, throw the monkey a banana, and he did it for you! Like a kid that when you want him to do something, you tell him to do the opposite. What an unbelievable moron!

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  188. Yo beetches! My ads are up and yours are not! Tacomazing in da house! Come get me you little bitch flagger! You can't take me down! Nobody can take me down! My shit sticks muchacho!

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  189. Holy sheet! They're all gone now! Must be some punk ass white boy still livin with mama. So what da fuck you get outta dis? You just having fun fuckin wit peeps or wat? Well FUCK YOU!

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  191. Went on the CL help forums. He's on there too I believe and writing all day long. Check it out. I'm sure the handle changes, but you'll be able to tell who he is. He's an angry poster for sure. He didn't like my question asking for help , so he flagged it(others seem to be standing). I guess I hurt his feelings.

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  192. Why is a DJ with a phone number in the subject line(and conveniently "deleted by author")the only post up?

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  193. Hey asshole, how about this? How about we publish your IP addresses, your phone IP address and then hire a hacker to find you. Do you think it's that difficult? And then you'll live the rest of your life looking over your shoulder never knowing who's going to come to your house, to burn your car, sorry, skateboard, or whatever the fuck your ride, how does that sound to you? Because, quite frankly we're getting a little tired of this shit.

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  194. And if you're think I'm bluffing, how about this?

    Most of the times you get through the internet through Roadrunner/Time Warner. Sometimes through ATT/SBC. And you have a Sprint smart phone that you tether to your wireless router sometimes? Am I getting warmer or do you want me to start publishing your IP addresses so people can find you?

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  195. Hey guys, i'm going to approach this from a different perspective. I've already printed this entire blog but i need more than just this.This is what i need from you to get this problem finally solved and stop the flagger once and for all.
    Email me the following info at clproblems@gmail.com
    1-when did you start having problems with flagging, ( now and any other time, he did the same thing a few months ago)
    2-Your type of business ( i don't need your info just what you do: Dj, video, event planning etc...)
    3-How much craigslist is a part of your income
    4-why the fact you can not post in craigslist affects your monthly income and as result what are the consequences of this ( for ex: not being able to pay rent, have to sell equipment) in general WHY THIS AFFECTS YOU AND IN WHAT WAY
    5- I will need you to verify and certify by email at the end of your statement that all the information you have provided in such email is accurate and real
    6- give your permission to be contacted by email or phone if necessary to give your statement (again i don't need your phone number but "they" may need to verify this process) "they" is where im taking this
    7- if you feel you posted here anything you wish to remove, please feel free to erase it and ill print this blog again tonight before i take it.

    PLEASE KNOW THAT I WILL NEVER EXCHANGE YOUR INFORMATION WITH OTHER CL USERS AND AS I SAID I DO NOT NEED YOU PERSONAL INFO JUST AN EMAIL EXPLAINING YOUR SITUATION. THANK YOU

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  196. Hey, Putting my contact information in the subject line is a great idea! That way, even if the post is gone, people still see my information for a bit when there is nothing else from anyone else. That's a great tip and still keeps the section usable!

    Mr. Flagger - this could work out after all! I mean, your software isn't really that fast...

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