It's... a Craigslist clone. The article makes it seem like backpage.com is some online brothel whose sole (or main) focus is "teh trafficking of innocent wimmi

It's... a Craigslist clone. The article makes it seem like backpage.com is some online brothel whose sole (or main) focus is "teh trafficking of innocent wimminz and children oh my!", but a quick spin through the site seems to show that it's more like Craigslist with less traffic and the greatest site design techniques from 2004. With that in mind, the NYT article strikes me as more of an attack piece against Village Voice Media, and a screed against online prostitution in general. In my experience as a semi-professional musician who gets a significant chunk of work from the 'gigs' and 'talent' section of Craigslist, the quality of those sections diminished GREATLY when Craigslist shuttered their 'adult' section. I say leave backpage.com alone, and don't penalize the rest of their community by using a sledgehammer to squash a housefly.