Craigslist Not Liable for Housing Ads-April 1

Most of us love posting on craigslist. And, sometimes we can find very questionable postings there. Is the site liable?



Daily Real Estate News March 17, 2008Craigslist Not Liable for Housing AdsCraigslist, an online network of classified ads, isn’t liable for discriminatory housing ads posted there, a federal appeals court ruled last Friday.The decision upholds a November 2006 ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. In dismissing the case, U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve ruled that Craigslist serves as an intermediary party, not a publisher. She also said the federal Communications Decency Act protects sites that allow users to post unedited messages and communicate freely in forums.The ruling means "the soapbox is not liable for what the speaker has said," said Kurt Opsahl, a senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization that advocates for free speech online.The lawsuit, filed by a consortium of Chicago attorneys in February 2006, accused Craigslist of violating federal housing laws by publishing more than 100 ads that excluded potential buyers or tenants on the basis of race, gender, or religion.Source: The Associated Press, Megan Reichgott (03/15/08)

Be Safe...

Very often, on a news, you can hear stories how unethical and unprofessional realtors can be, putting people in risky situations. Very rare, however, you hear stories about how clients can be unreasonable and unethical, putting realtors in an unsafe situation.

My point is there are bad people in every nation, nationality, race, profession, etc.
Up to last night, I was very lucky meeting very nice clients who later on became my friends. However, (not being a doctor, it is only my unprofessional speculation) I came a cross split personality disorder. One minut, my client/buyer was nice and respectful driving around with me checking houses. And, next minute, he flips: becomes aggressive, unreasonable and hateful. To be honest with you I could not even understand why, I guess this disorder cannot be explained with reason. I was concern for my safety.

It made me think how I should operate in these situations in the future. On one hand, I do not want to be distrustful toward new people I meet. On the other hand, I should have a plan how to react to these situations.

I am open to any comments. I prefer not to name names and point to those people. However, I would like to have a moment to advise everyone to be safe. And, next time when you hear stories about unprofessionalism of realtors, please keep in mind we are all people: and there are nice and not so nice either realtors or clients.

Have a nice week (addressed to all kind people :).