>>Craig’s list is not the free press that the founders envisioned and certainly they never intended the free press to be used as means to destroy individuals and their property.<<
True, but they knew it would happen. Thousands of individuals in this nations history have been destroyed by the printed or spoken word. And I am talking protected free speech, not libel or slander.
They may not have intended it, but they expected it. They also expected people to defend themselves.
One thing is for sure. I learned one thing from this article: If I owned property that was easily taken by people I would put “no trespassing” signs on my property. But you cannot stop all crimes. You can mitigate, but sometimes you are gonna get mugged, raped, murdered, robbed, and any number of other nasty things no matter what precautions you take. But you don’t blame the gun manufacturer, the subway, the car manufacturer or the web publisher. And don’t kid yourself: Those people that actually took stuff without confirming with the owner were simply thieves. And the ones that drove away after he confronted them crossed a line. They should spend time in jail. Maybe a month or two.
No, what you are defending is anonymity to those who have committed a crime. The crime is fraud and it is federal offense because it was committed over state lines. CL is in danger of adding and abetting if they do not do everything in their power to bring the criminals to justice.
This is not about free speech. There exists plenty of avenues for free speech. How many political speeches are on CL? Zero. So why did the criminals use CL instead of the Blade or the City Paper? Because even those leftist rags have the good sense to verify the ad applicant's info. I can only hope you never find yourself in the same position the next time you go on vacation. Forget the No Trespassing signs, the perps will simply take them down as soon as you leave the house.