Love it or hate it classified ad sites are where most of us get our business from.  Sites like Backpage and the cash cow formerly known as Craigslist erotic/adult services are what fuels review boards other sites incidental to the escort industry.   TER, other review/discussion boards and verification sites aren't meant to be advertising sites, nor should they be if reviews and the exchange of information are to remain their primary purpose.  

Escorts and hobbyists found Craigslist, not the other way around.  Craigslist became a juggernaut to the industry not quite by accident but it certainly not on purpose.    The spirit behind Craigslist has always been to bring real individuals together locally for the private exchange of goods and services. The bonus was looking for and even meeting someone for a no-strings casual type encounter.  But those things don't always work out the way they're supposed to and when they didn't all a guy had to do was scroll down and a little to the right to ye' old erotic services category to find exactly what he was looking for.  That was the idea anyway.  The ads were free, the girls were available and guys could browse the listings and pretend to be looking for a new couch, job, apartment or lawn mower, etc.  Things would change down the road but only after it gained enormous popularity and became known as the go-to website on the path of least resistance to pay for play.  

Backpage mimicked the concept and overall layout of CL but it missed its mark in establishing itself as a solid source of classified ads in categories other than escort services.  It was enough though to establish themselves as the default site most people would migrate to when CL shut down erotic services.  But with great exposure comes great liability and it's on track to meet the same fate CL did.  

In order for things to be business as usual when BP is shut down  (and it will be shut down) it's important its successor is already established and up and running.  When CL shut down it affected everyone, whether they used the site or not.  If the same thing happens to BP before there's a back-up plan in effect there's no telling how long it will take to undo that damage.    

I don't have a solid backup plan in place yet and I suspect the same is true for a lot of people.   I would feel a lot more comfortable if I did though.  CL and BP are tough acts to follow.  Facebook, for countless reasons, is not an option, along with all the other social networking or crowd sourced sites.  Even sites or applications that link to FB are bad-news bears because nothing is sacred or private when it comes to Facebook.  Behind its innocuous looking blue and white interface lies a predatory data-mining beast that the hobby is best off to steering clear of.  

Unfortunately, Facebook does have many of the same elements CL had that contributed to its popularity and success.  It's wildly popular, people use it hook-up,  it's mobile friendly and safe for work.  It's also free but that didn't do anyone any favors when that was the case on CL.

So what is the general consensus on where to advertise in a post Backpage world?   Ladies, where do you plan to peddle your wares after BP?  Guys, what other sites will you consider as a replacement for BP?