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What do craigslist users like? This is the question the Best Of section of the site attempts to answer. As someone who spends way too much time on the List looking at what actually constitutes the average user, I'm not convinced that Best Of is really the product of regular craigslist denizens giving certain posts the thumbs up. Rather, it looks like a collection of posts singled out by people who either very self-consciously avoid using craigslist for anything and only stumbled upon the posts because they were forwarded to them by other people, or they're selected by people who do use craigslist but are so embarrassed about it that they feel like pointing and laughing the hardest will distract from the fact of their usage. Me? I get paid to do this, but the people who vote for Best Of posts have some other incentive.
Best. Roommate. Ever.
Konichiwa bitches. Are you looking for the most kick-ass f'ing roommate that ever lived? If so, look no further. You f'ing found him. I'm a 25-year-old professional marketing agent with experience at bad-ass companies in New York F'ing City. That's right! What you know about experience? I graduated from Auburn University in Alabama, and moved to NYC at the ripe, tender age of 22. After deciding that New York was a stinky shit-hole, I moved back to Alabama to cultivate more professional experience. Why? So I can make millions of dollars and not have to post shit like this on Craigslist.
This is but the first, somewhat censored paragraph of a much longer Best Of selection. It belongs to the first category of Best Of posts: Real posts selected because they're at least as entertaining as they are effective. A significant portion of the posts in BO look like this. They're posts from people who try really, really hard to be funny because they think they'll get better results that way. They're probably right, too. Don't get me wrong, this guy is insufferable, not because I think he's actually like this but because he's the type of guy to lead with an elaborate gimmick in any social situation in the most calculated, cynical way possible. And he's being rewarded for this.
Coffee Table of the Gods
This coffee table is perfect for someone with a cocaine habit or shooting a porno movie.
As you can see from the photo, the majestic beauty of this coffee table rivals earthly treasures such as: the color of the sky at sunset, the laughter of a small child, and infidelity.
Qualities of the table:
-Carpeted
-Mirrored
-The muthertrucker spins
-Doesn't have any weird splotches under black lights
Due to the assumed large demand for this table, all inquirers will be subjected to a quiz to determine their level of badass-ity.
The price of the table is firm: $7.83, four cans of Chef Boyardee Beef Ravioli, and a framed photo of Betty White.
Next up, the "here's a weird thing" post. It's a largely Internet phenomenon that smug people pointing at weird things and expounding upon their weirdness counts as comedy. I'm not entirely opposed to this. After all, before this post I didn't even know that something as ludicrous as a mirror-top coffee table wrapped in carpet even existed, because that's the stupidest, most impractical thing I've heard all week. Still, this post wasn't made to get anything done or connect with anyone. It's just there as a joke. What should qualify as the "best" of craigslist is a post that's informative, engaging and functional while surrounded by countless posts filled with stupidity and ineffectiveness. This post is the equivalent of a restaurant dedicated to food fights.
Manhood Camping
Manhood Camping Firequest. Lookin' for a 100% for real bros to share/experience manhood in all its glory. This is for real, I don't want to waste my time or yours. 100% JO and manhood, no sugar added. I AM NOT GAY. Don't even think this is a sex thing, it's all about manhood.
Looking for bros to head into the woods and bond by fire, experience life as men once lived it, JO circle, and fire/vision quests.
THIS IS NOT A SEX THING.
Gonna need some basic things/skills, I don't want to be slowed down by fools:
- must be in reasonable shape, if you get winded walking then stay home
- Ed Hardy camping gear, it's really good gear and it's awesome
- desire to be a man among men
- not afraid to wield a blade
- crystal, I'm not sharing mine
- must be able to make a fire
- gloves
- a knowledge of native vegetation (knowledge of psychotropic fungus a plus)
- knowledge of modern music
- protective/splash resistant eye wear
- 5 - 10 of those clip things that rock climbers use
This post goes on for a lot longer (length being a key feature of most Best Of selections) but you should get the gist from the above. Let's get something clear here: This post is not real. No post in BO is "real" in the sense that they're all comedy first, function maybe later, but this one belongs to a class of posts that exist for no reason other than to be selected for Best Of. That, as far as I'm concerned, is worse than trying to get famous for writing humorous Twitter posts. Like just about everything else on craigslist, Best Of doesn't work because it's populated by people who abuse it for other ends. Sure, some of the posts in BO are amusing in a very Internet-y way, but they all just underline the pointlessness of the List. When the best of your site is mockery of your site, your project has failed.
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