Craigslist was created in 1995 by Craig Newmark, who had observed people on the Net, on the WELL and in Usenet, helping one another out in a neighborly fashion. Craig decided to help his San Francisco community in a similar fashion, telling people about cool events around San Francisco. He did so by creating a website all about San Francisco events.

Its popularity spread through word of mouth, due to its consistently fresh content created by local users for local users. This grassroots site, where any user can help determine what is posted and what is removed, grew into a simple-yet-populous place where everyone has a voice, and a sense of trust.