ROOM FOR RENT, L@@K!

I love Craigslist listings that are written as though the author is having a conversation with you. Or rather, shouting at you.

"PLEASE DO NOT WASTE TIME BY ASKING IF YOU CAN MAKE PAYMENTS ON SECURITY DEPOSIT OR FIRST MONTHS RENT. OH NO BUDDY, NOT HAPPENING. NOT LIKE THAT LAST JERK WHO NEVER PAID. I'VE LEARNED MY LESSON. WON'T BE DOING THAT AGAIN."

Okay, the last three sentences were made up. But "OH NO BUDDY, NOT HAPPENING" was real. And it really was in all capitals. I think illiterate people do this out of laziness. Lazy literate people just don't capitalize at all and while this is acceptable for personal, casual emails, it shouldn't be for an advertisement. Correct punctuation, correct grammar and correct spelling exist for a reason: uniformity makes for ease of communication and lessens the chance of misunderstanding.

For purposes of Craigslist though, it also weeds out the people that you don't want living with you or acting as your landlord.

"very nice mobilehome avalible close to freeways,shoping,cc collage perfer male"

More Craiglist follies: When Ryan was looking for someone to take over his room, he got at least 2 requests from parents/older relatives, soliciting information about the room for their adult child. One was for a 19 year old kid, the other was for a 30 year old grad student!

"I'm responding to your ad on Craigslist. My 22 year old son is looking for a room to rent. He has been living at home until now, because they failed to cut the chord when he was born and thus I have never left him alone for more than 20 minutes. He decided recently that he needed to find his own place. Seeing as I indulge every whim of his, so that he can concentrate on getting into Harvard Law School as well as the Fuqua School of Business without worrying about mundane details such as paying bills, dealing with disappointment and tying his shoelaces, I've taken responsibility for his search. As I prefer to shield him from distressing situations, I would like to view the place before he looks at it to make sure that it will provide an atmosphere conducive to him fulfilling his potential for success as well as appropriate for a few "peculiarities" of his - he must have a south facing window as he burns easily in direct sunlight, he is allergic to soy, nuts, milk, parsley, fish oil, fruits and vegetables, and cell phone coverage must be clear in every room as I need to be able to get a hold of him at least 3 or 4 times a day. Would you be available to show it to me today?"