Here’s a scene we’d like to see (but we’re betting we won’t):

Women picket outside Craigslist’s offices in San Francisco, frustrated with the company’s approach to ads that lead to prostitution. Jim Buckmaster, the lanky CEO of the free-classifieds site, wanders outside to talk with them directly and explain his position on why the company offers “adult services” ads — and to learn about their complaints and ways the company could improve.

There’s a chance that scene could take place this Thursday, when a group called the Coalition against Trafficking in Women is planning a protest at Craigslist’s headquarters.The group has lined up 76 more co-sponsoring organizations (although somehow I doubt they’ll even have 75 people at the protest).

In its news release, the coalition says that “by providing traffickers and johns with a virtual red-light district, Craigslist is aiding, abetting and enormously profiting from sex trafficking.

Our research estimates that Craigslist will generate more than $36 million this year from “adult services” ads –  let’s be real, they’re actually “prostitution ads”  –  more than three times the revenue it generated last year. (Whether “prostitution ads” translate into “profiting from sex trafficking,” as the group claims, is a giant leap. But that’s their battle to fight.)

Buckmaster calls Craigslist “the only venue that seeks out nonprofit groups and readily adopts their suggestions.”  He says the company is “indisputably the ‘corporate responsibility’ leader among the countless companies large and small that offer adult services ads.

“We will not rest on our laurels however, and are committed to doing even better.”

He also notes that he met by video-conference with Rachel Lloyd, founder of  Girls Education and Mentoring Services, an anti-trafficking group.

So, here’s a challenge, Jim: When the protesters show up at Craigslist’s offices this Thursday, step outside. Meet with them; have a photographer there to show how responsive you are, and listen. Listen carefully.

Some of us at the AIM Group believe Craigslist should eliminate its adult-services ads; others (like me) do not. Regardless, all of us think the company could improve its efforts to eliminate blatant prostitution ads for youngsters, and could become much more transparent about its efforts to manage those ads to make Craigslist a safer place for all — while ensuring that its profits from prostitution ads go to organizations that make a difference in the world.