'Adult' Ads Make Craigslist More Dangerous

Craigslist's new "adult services" section is doing little to curb prostitution and may actually be making the profession more dangerous, Ars Technica reports. With the demise of the explicit erotic services page, many posters have started using code words like "erotic massages" and "french lessons" and less explicit photos to recruit clientele on other Craigslist pages.

"You just can't say what you offer anymore; now everything is offered through massage service," says Maureen, whose posts to the new section simply cost her more—$10 instead of $5—and take longer to go live. But the changes at Craigslist, purportedly to make people like Maureen safer, have scared away her button-down business clientele. "I do feel like it's more unsafe." (More prostitute stories.)