Originally Posted by drriley

I'm inclined to say that the setup it ripe for abuse (competitors trying to kick the competition's ads off) and Backpage is aware of it, but permits it as a means to boost their revenue. It is in keeping with a variety of abusive tactics that Backpage.com engages in and, so far, has gotten away with.

I've thought perhaps I'd prove a point to them by contracting out to some cheap foreign IT/data contractor in India, or such, to have a team of 5 - 10 people flagging random ads (thousands/daily), rotating IP addresses if need be, to - perhaps - cause such a flood of complaints from customers that Backpage will be forced to turn off "Community" moderation.

Sometimes it takes a heavy hand to make a point, especially when dealing with fraudsters like those who operate Backpage.com.

I should NOT have to take any loss in a situation such as that which I have described. It is not remotely what one could argue would be a legitimate cost of doing business. It is abuse and conspiratorial on the part of Backpage.com.