Well, I prefer the feel of Craigslist, though, if I were doing something very seriously and formally, I'd probably go to boston.com.
Why I like Craigslist--it's
informal-I landed there one day and was really drawn in by its simple and non-cluttered look.
easy to use-each time I use it, I stay on longer than planned because it is so transparently easy to search by category, region, and word.,
easy to see how things are organized-with all the geographic areas laid out on one page, it's easy to begin, then narrow to one's specific area of interest. Category searching seems informal and easy to me.
Local-best of all, it has a very local feel. I have posted once to offer an item and had great and immediate response. On the search front, I was happily surprised by serendipitously finding local musicians using Craigslist. I now am happily playing chamber music with them!
What about classifieds on boston.com. The elimination of classifieds from each day of the Globe must be affecting the online classifieds as well. There aren't many, but--First they are
difficult to find. The only mention of the word, "classifieds" on the boston.com web page is way at the very end of the page.
categories-much more formal. It is interesting that, though these classifieds are more strictly local than Craigslist, they have a more remote feel because of their formality. There is no option to go right to search. The
first approach by huge subject categories. If you're not interested in jobs, cars, pets, or homes the "stuff" category covers an awful lot of "stuff." Once one clicks on "stuff," the subcategories sound like they're from some commercial catalog. Stiff approach.. The good thing about boston.com's classified's is that the more formal use of subject categories might be helpful both to people posting ads as well as those searching. Job listings are more serious and have much better information than the ones I saw in Craigslist.