Jim Buckmaster has catapulted Craigslist, which has stirred the world as the undisputed leader in online classifieds, with 450 sites in 50 countries, despite its strong anticapitalist culture. Fortune interviewed programmer-turned-CEO Buckmaster to learn what is happening at Craigslist. Buckmaster first heard about Craigslist in late 1999 when a friend mentioned it. Buckmaster put his resume on Craigslist, founder Craig Newmark saw it and invited him for an interview, and Buckmaster was hired as lead programmer. Buckmaster says that web ventures are best operated by techies, who should simplify things, be patient, focus on user feedback, and avoid taking outside money if at all possible. Buckmaster has overcome his share of obstacles, yet he now feels that obstacles are surmountable since he enjoys working at Craigslist and feels like the site is benefiting society. Craigslist avoids focusing on financial metrics, according to Buckmaster; rather, Craigslist listens to its users by tracking page views to gauge site usage and by looking at the number of thank-you notes from users who have found things such as a spouse, house, job, pet, friends, and social life on Craigslist. Buckmaster does not plan to make Craigslist a public company because it seems like it would be more trouble than its worth. Craigslist will increase the number of cities in its real estate section, Buckmaster insists, adding that Craigslist hopes to remain small despite the fact that they are actively looking for good techies. Craigslist, which relies exclusively on word of mouth, has the most traffic in its 'for sale' section, followed by housing, jobs, and personal, and its busiest cities are San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, and Seattle. Buckmaster expects more of the same for Craigslist over the next five to ten years, and gradual improvements based on user requests.