Katherine Olson saw her friends before answering a job post on Craigslist.com - unfortunately that was the last time anybody else would see her alive.
What does this mean for the internet? Should something be done?
If you haven't read the news story yet (I don't think my submission got to the front page yet) go read it
here.
I feel bad writing about this because of the past praise I’ve given to Craiglist on
dotcult, but it’s such a newsworthy item that I can’t really resist the urge.
Last week a 24 year old woman answered a Craiglist ad for a nanny and was later found dead in the trunk of a car. That’s about all the authorities have released so far.
I’ve used the site for many things (no not those things you sicko) and I never even thought about this happening. In hindsight though, it seems like it was only a matter of time.
Does this mean the site is to blame? No, not really. It’s always up to people to do their due diligence when meeting somebody for the first time no matter how they met them. We always talk about the dangers of meeting people online, but the murderer here could have used the newspaper, telephone, television, word of mouth, or simply met somebody at the mall and achieved the same result.
The internet can be a scary place, but it’s no more scarier than the real world, and I believe somebody should always use appropriate cautions when meeting somebody for the first time. In the case of a nanny, it may be appropriate to bring a bigger stronger friend with you when going on that first interview - especially if it’s in the client’s home. (of course, the safer alternative is to simply meet at a local coney island or something)
With that said, I’m now surprised that Craigslist doesn’t have some sort of user registration / verification system or feedback similar to ebay. I’m not saying all users should register, but even an extra “verified user” status would be beneficial. It could even be another revenue stream for the site.
I know that simply knowing the identity of somebody won’t stop them from committing murder if they so choose, but it will deter many from using a system where they have a higher expectation of getting caught.