Metropolis Classifieds FAQ

User harassment isn't very common, but sadly, it does happen from time to time. Unfortunately, there is nothing that Metropolis can do to stop harassment once correspondence is established outside of our system. Even when it occurs within our system, the users-remain-anonymous nature of the system stymies our ability to deal effectively with harassment. We can flag or delete accounts, but there is nothing stopping people from opening a new account with a new address and new information.

Our best advice is to use caution when meeting people through Metropolis, and to be very selective of what information you share about yourself and with whom you share it. Don't give users your main e-mail address (unless you wouldn't mind abandoning it in a worst-case situation), don't give out your home or work addresses, and be picky about who gets your phone number or you might have to have it changed. If harassment goes beyond an annoying e-mail or two and enters threatening territory, contact the police for help.

If you are being harassed by someone who is posting on our site, please let us know by sending us an e-mail. Please include a link to the user's ad and a description of the harassment you are suffering. As mentioned above, the courses of action open to us are few, however, taking the time to e-mail us might prevent others from experiencing the same sort of harassment.

If you require a user's information for a police investigation, please be aware that we cannot give out information to users. The police must contact us directly and make a formal request for information before we can oblige. If contacted by the police, however, we will, of course, do our best to co-operate with all requests.