Reasons as to why I no longer use the CraigsList Mail Relay System (how to use your E-Mail address)
98WARNING - I will NOT be held responsible for any damages the methods shown in this video may cause to yourself or someone else, including loss data and/or loss of security and privacy regarding said data, including (but not limited to) your personally identifiable information and identity and/or loss of profits resulting from the use of such methods shown in this video. Any information or program you choose to put into use from this video is done AT YOUR OWN RISK.
I no longer use the CraigsList Mail Relay System. The goal of the CraigsList Mail Relay System is to mask both the buyer's and seller's E-Mail address, ensuring anonymity throughout the E-Mail correspondence between both parties. CraigsList accomplishes this by intercepting these communications and showing the interested party's E-Mail address as (personal code)@reply.craigslist.org, while the seller's E-Mail address appears as (personal code)@sale.craigslist.org. The problem with this system is that should the CraigsList Mail Relay System ever go down or malfunction, not only is communication broken down between both parties, but none of the parties are informed that their sent mails are not going through; not being delivered and not being received (as was the situation for a brief period of July 2013). It leaves both parties in a state of anticipation, waiting for a message that has been sent but that is never properly delivered to the other party.
Luckily, CraigsList Mail Relay is an option and not a requirement; it is not a service that you have to use. This is how to opt out of the CraigsList Mail Relay System: when writing your classified ad posting, instead of selecting 'use craigslist mail relay (recommended)' instead select 'no replies to this email, please'. What this will do is permit you to actually insert and indicate your proper E-Mail address WITHIN the body of the ad text, ensuring that when someone contacts you through CraigsList, that they contact you directly to your personal E-Mail address, avoiding any issues associated with going through the CraigsList Mail Relay System.
This of course also benefits the seller whose ad posting becomes reposted on other online classified ad sites who aggregate classified ads from popular sites such as CraigsList in order to populate their site with classified ad postings (these sites often do not integrate the CraigsList Mail Relay System properly, so by posting your personal E-Mail address in your ad, you receive the added exposure and promotion of your ad all while avoiding any possible E-Mail misdirection between relay services).