Two of these three encounters could have happened without the aid of craigslist-- the free spirit who won't commit, the guy who is okay, but just not right for me-- but I learned a little about how to phrase my ad.  Every guy I met was a heavy drinker, because my ad had emphasized alcohol above anything else.  I also used words like "fun-loving" and "friends," which guys read as "let's party and hook up!" 

If you're placing an ad looking for a relationship, be specific!  Make it clear you don't want a one-night stand or casual hookups.  Don't worry about sounding too exclusive...do you know how many people are out there on the internet? You want to weed some out. 

Don't feel obligated to respond to every reply you get.  It is perfectly okay to delete any or all of them.  If anyone seems weird, changes his story, wants to meet in a less-than-public place, or makes you feel uncomfortable, run away!  Delete his e-mails and block him.  This is about finding a happy, fulfilling relationship for you, and you don't owe any guy out there anything just because he answered your ad.  You owe it to yourself to be careful and to be picky.

I've since placed another ad, one much more specific.  Again, I got a bunch of freaky answers from strange guys, but I weeded it down to two decent-seeming ones.  I had a date with one tonight, and while he was really nice, there just wasn't any chemistry.  We'll see about the other :o)