Craigslist Personals is an active portion of the online bulletin board, Craigslist, where people can post free personals and other online classified ads. The Personals' "Erotic Services" section is no longer free, however. After a 2006 Nassau County prostitution sting operation centered on Craigslist ads, Craigslist imposed a $5 posting fee, and required a valid phone number for posting ads in the "Erotic Services" section.http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/fashion/19craigslist.html

Craigslist subsequently reported an 80 percent drop in the number of ads posted in the Erotic Services section.http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/fashion/19craigslist.html One possibly-to-be-expected result was a significant increase in the number of ads posted in the "Casual Encounters" section, which now accounts for two percent of all ads posted on Craigslist. The overall number of postings on the Craigslist Personals section is now reportedly higher than for any online match-making or dating site, including the largest - Match.com and eHarmony.com.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vanessa-richmond/a-new-twist-in-the-story_b_530408.html

The Craiglist Personals pages appear as a section under each regional or city site of Craigslist (such as the Washington D.C. area site).http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/ Craigslist Personals is subdivided into several sections, ranging from the "Strictly Platonic" to "Casual Encounters."http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/

The full list of sections is as follows:

1. Strictly platonic
2. Women seeking women
3. Women seeking men
4. Men seeking women
5. Men seeking men
6. Misc romance
7. Casual encounters
8. Missed connections
9. Rants and raves

The sections themselves include anywhere from dozens to hundreds of free personal ads per day seeking anything from a one night stand to a long term relationship, with everything in-between.http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/w4m/

Craigslist began when founder Craig Newmark moved to San Francisco and started an email list to notify his friends and colleagues about events in the Bay Area. After four years, in 1999, Newmark retired from his work as an IT consultant and devoted his efforts to Craigslist. From that humble beginning he built up the 7th most visited English-languange website in the world.http://www.craigslist.org/about/craig_newmark Craigslist annual sales are almost $1 million ($0.9 million in 2008).http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/129/129617.html

In August 2004, eBay purchased a 25 percent stake in Craigslist stock from a former shareholder.http://www.craigslist.org/about/factsheet Currently there is ongoing litigation between Craigslist and eBay, with eBay claiming Craigslist initiated illegal actions to dilute eBay's minority holdings.http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/01/paidcontent/main4061009.shtml A redacted version of the complaint is available online.http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/ebay/226550478x0x192471/5a92c5ee-98c3-4a85-a507-0ecd8c81e41b/eBay_LetterwithPublicRedactedVerifiedComplaint.pdf Meg Whitman, former eBay CEO and current California gubernatorial contender, testified on behalf of eBay.http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/12/meg-whitman-testifies-as-ebay-and-craigslist-square-off-in-court/ Craigslist is counter-suing claiming eBay improperly used confidential business information it gained access to as a Craigslist shareholder to launch Kijiji, a competing online classifieds site.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/07/ebay-craigslist-battle-fo_n_382344.html

Craigslist is a for-profit company, but maintains a culture of non-commercialism, symbolized by its retaining the ".org" suffix in its web address.http://www.craigslist.org/about/factsheet Craigslist does not host any third-party ads, and does not charge posting fees for personal ads. Paid ads include mostly "For Hire" ads in about 20 major markets, and NYC brokered apartment ads.http://www.craigslist.org/about/factsheet

Nearly 50 million people in the United States alone post ads or respond to online classified ads on Craigslist, visiting an estimated 20 billion pages on the site.http://www.craigslist.org/about/factsheet There are about 100 user forums on the site, on topics from adoption to yoga.http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/forums/

Craigslist posts some specific requirements for using the Personals area. The site requires you to "use your "Back" button to exit this part of Craigslist" should any of the 5 requirements not be true for you.http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/cgi-bin/personals.cgi?category=w4m

1. I am at least 18 years old.
2. I understand "women seeking men" may include adult content.
3. I agree to flag as "prohibited" anything illegal or in violation of the craigslist terms of use.
4. I agree to report suspected exploitation of minors to the appropriate authorities.
5. By clicking on the links below, I release craigslist from any liability that may arise from my use of this site.

Craigslist warns its users that some scammers may be using the site to pose as potential dates, where in reality they, at best, send the responder to a dating site and at worst, send him or her to sites that will upload malware to the user's computer.http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/cgi-bin/personals.cgi?category=w4m

1. Citysearch
2. Facebook
3. Meetup
4. HotPads
5. OLX
6. eBay
7. Realmatch
8. Flugpo
9. MyStore
10. Upfuse
11. iList
12. SellitForFree.com
13. erento
14. Corkin
15. Geebo
16. MySkip.com
17. ClassifiedsByZip.com
18. StuffBuff
19. Advertag
20. Match.com
21. eHarmony.com