Flagging Craigslist

Filed under Soapbox on September 26, 2007
Keywords: Craigslist, Eternal Warlords

I thought about adding an update to Burning Bridges, or posting it in the comments, but this deserves a post of its own.

Shortly after receiving an profanity-filled, sarcastic email amongst the responses to a craigslist ad I posted for a logo for Eternal Warlords: Arena, I received notification from CL that my ad had been flagged and deleted. After visiting the Terms of Use and not seeing any violations, I posted the ad to the CL forums and asked for help.

Surprisingly, the responses were courteous and helpful. Apparently, the community frowns on “contests,” even though they are not expressly forbidden by the TOU, and while my ad was not a contest, it was close enough. Don’t even get me started on community moderation. I also learned that the fee offered might be considered a bit low. Someone even mentioned that the “carefree” wording of my ad may be insulting to some “artists” who feel a lack of respect for their work from the corporate world.

Well, I took the input, recrafted the ad and reposted. I clearly stated that this was a good opportunity for students/recent grads (i.e., low fee) and that it was “on spec.” I got some more interest. And another vitriolic email. And flagged and deleted.

Now, it’s been a while since I did any freelance design work, but I still freelance as a writer. “On spec” work is part and parcel of the industry. Not so with designers, it seems. At least those who frequent craigslist.

As with a lot of the development of EWA, I also contacted the Art Institute of Portland. The rep I spoke with was friendly (my previous contact was recently promoted). He confirmed that most designers shy away from on spec work because of the poor return on investment. He also told me that the fee we offered was about 1/3 of what most professional freelancers with some experience under their belt would consider.

I’m not opposed to adjusting my expectations to meet changes in industry practices, even if those practices seem like they’re shooting members of the industry in the foot. The AI rep is sending me some names of folks he thinks might be a good fit. If I haven’t found what I’m looking for from the responses to the CL ads, I’ll take a look at their portfolios. Given the poor responses (volume and quality) from past CL ads we’ve run, and the success we’ve had working with AI to date, not only do I imagine going that direction anyway, but I think this is the last time the company will use craigslist as a resource.

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