

"Sex Wanted" Ads on Craiglist Surge with the DNC - ComputerGuru
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10028213-38.html

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aasarava
Oh no, 80% increase! Look out!</sarcasm> This is a pretty good example of how
big numbers out of context can be presented as a trend.

In order for this stat to be meaningful at all, we need to know a few more
things. First, how many of the posts claim to be from people who arrived in
town for the DNC, versus those from people who are already in town looking to
hook up with out-of-towners? Secondly, how many are posted by the same person?
And thirdly, how many people are in town for the convention?

Let's assume 150 of the 340 posts are from unique DNC visitors. And let's
assume 50K people in town. That's a 0.3% post rate. Not quite an orgy.

Beyond that, how does the stat mentioned compare to the increase in postings
across all of Craigslist Denver? How does it compare to the increase in
postings to Craiglist during DNCs and RNCs in year past? How about whenever
there's _any_ large convention in town?

I guess this article wouldn't have generated as many pageviews if Declan's
editor at CNet titled it, "More People Get it On When More People are in the
Same Locale."

Just because you can do the math in a way that yields a big number doesn't
make it a trend or a scandal.

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ALee
This effect happens with the Olympics, conventions, Burning Man, and pretty
much any large event... I wouldn't blame politicians or political staff.

~~~
Herring
re: olympics, it makes for a funny read

[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/olympics/article45824...](http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/olympics/article4582421.ece)

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streety
Taken from the article -

The old "what goes on tour stays on tour" mantra is still alive and kicking,
not just in sport but beyond.

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iamdave
Reading the comments, it's amazing remarkably low the reading comprehension
and application rate appears to be.

 _Mere correlation does not imply causation_

But what people read and what they choose to understand will forever be far
divided.

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MHollender
True, but Liberals have always had loose sexual morals, they tend to think if
you have a desire or a whim you should satisfy it at once, therefore a
causation doesn't sound very unlikely.

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colinplamondon
Or maybe, just maybe, when you get a significant amount of politicians and
political staffers into a single city there tends to be some sex going on.

Shock?

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MHollender
Is politics a high-libido profession? Hm... maybe, actually it makes sense.
But I think a subculture that holds books like Eros and Civilization from
Herbert Marcuse in high regard has probably higher time preferences in it.

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jcl
Maybe, maybe not. I'd like to see stats for less-political conventions... I
wouldn't be surprised to see an increase in promiscuity for any large group of
people on a week-long trip away from home.

But it might be the combination of technological skills and go-getter attitude
shared by young political staffers that lead them to post their desires on
Craiglist...

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vaksel
And next week m4m ads in Saint Paul will go through the roof. Increases like
this happen every time there is a big convention

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johnrob
What else would you expect when Bill Clinton comes to town?

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jcromartie
Let's wait and see what happens when Larry Craig comes to town :)

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wheels
Politicians are slimebags, news at 11.

~~~
anthonyrubin
Is there something wrong with sex?

