Craigslist - Okay to crosspost?

November 6, 2006 10:46 PM

I live right between two locations on Craigslist. Posting an ad to one region means it won't show up on the other, though they are both equally distant and I want people from both areas to see. I want to cross post, but there's a warning that the posting might be flagged/removed. Should I worry about this, or go ahead anyway? This isn't spam, and it's also my first time posting on the site.
posted by bangitliketmac to Human Relations (10 answers total)

If you're an individual posting a single ad in both places I say go ahead. I'd change the text some though.
posted by FlamingBore at 10:52 PM on November 6, 2006

I actually just replied to a job posting that was posted in two cities near me. Turns out the organization which posted the ad was pretty much between the two.

Usually when making a CL post there is a form field which promts you to enter the area. You could post your specific city there but run the ad in both places.
posted by click at 11:26 PM on November 6, 2006

If it's really not spam then it's fine to post it both places. Like here, the flagging system on CL is done by humans, though I think they have some sort of automatic removal if you get a certain number of flags. Unless there is something about your post that will irritate or annoy people, most of them won't even know you've cross-posted it.
posted by jessamyn at 12:43 AM on November 7, 2006

I frequently see the same items for sale in the Detroit and Ann Arbor CL sites. It doesn't seem to bother people as much as posting the same ad repeatedly in one forum or across a bunch of forums.
posted by ardgedee at 2:48 AM on November 7, 2006

If time isn't a big factor, you can repost to another area after 48 hours. My wife does a painting workshop in Austin each year, and we try to draw from Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio by spacing each anouncement 48 hours apart.
posted by lobstah at 4:14 AM on November 7, 2006

As someone who lives between two areas, I check both, but when I post I'm always afraid someone else in my same position won't. I don't find repeat ads annoying (the spam is obvious and more annoying than any one guy's ad could be), but I'd keep the title the same so that someone like me who browses both knows she's already looked at it.
posted by cobaltnine at 6:14 AM on November 7, 2006

Considering that about 99% of all job postings are spam, and that Craigslist does nothing about preventing this, I would say there are absolutely no consequences to posting something twice. In the unlikely event that it gets flagged and removed, simply post it again until you feel it has been seen.
posted by jellicle at 6:26 AM on November 7, 2006

The worse thing that happens is that they remove your listing. If its worded the smae the program will automatically detect that you posted the same ad in another location. So change the words up and you will be fine.
posted by crewshell at 6:39 AM on November 7, 2006

Make you you change the wording somewhat, however. They do have some sort of script that compares a post word-for-word to recent posts in other areas. If your 2nd post matches, the system will give you a warning and the ad won't go through. But it gives you a chance to edit it and try again, so it's all good.
posted by cgg at 7:53 AM on November 7, 2006

What cgg says: If you switch the order of the sentences and maybe change a couple adjectives, the CL script should let the second ad through. They don't actually have a real human checking for cross-posts.
posted by sixdifferentways at 10:53 AM on November 8, 2006