I've long considered CL one of the biggest tragedies of the internet age. The problem is it's just good enough to prevent competitors from gaining critical mass, but it's not good enough to consistently do an adequate job. There's a huge pent-up demand for what CL provides, including local person-to-person commerce, sublets, apartment hunting, job hunting etc. I probably use CL about 2-3 times a year, and I end up regretting it about half the time.

I think the primary thing that is missing is a system to establish the reputation of both parties. CL could tie accounts to real identities, and let users rate each other. But CL has no need to innovate. I agree with the article that it acts like a monopoly.