Will the Real Rotten Neighbor Please Stand Up?
Rotten Neighbor Dot Com might make a valiant attempt at helping home buyers avoid the pain of moving in next to a nightmare neighbor – but not in the way most people might think.
The site invites people who are frustrated with their noisy, disgusting, rotten neighbors and gives them a forum for writing all about it on the internet. Then, these complaints show up on the site along with a satellite photo of the offending neighbor’s house marked out nicely on a convenient google map. Yikes! Though the implications of this are tremendous, I can tell you right now that there are two problems with this that are very apparent to me.
Number One: A bunch of anonymous posts complaining about "rotten neighbors" on the internet is virtually useless. Though it may be a great theory to give home buyers an easy way to find out if their prospective new home is located next door to a pack of mannerless degenerates, there’s an awful lot of missing information here. Who are these posters anyway? Thirteen year olds down the block who are holding a grudge? Spurned exes? People with differing political opinions? Who knows. This basically unmoderated forum is open to anyone who cares to slander their neighbors for whatever reason.
Number Two: There's no substitute for talking to actual people. If you really want to know who the rotten neighbors are and where the rotten neighborhoods are – talk to people who know! Call your local realtor and ask, or go right down there and knock on some doors. I know it may sound terribly old fashioned, but advice from someone who knows the area inside and out or talking to folks who live next to the house you want to purchase is the kind of advice that you can take to the bank.
On the other hand, if you use it in reverse, rotten neighbor can actually be a great resource for discovering neighbors you don't want and neighborhoods that are full of enough poisonous anti-community spirit to sink a ship. You just have to look at who is posting. After all, who wants to live next door to a badmouthing snitch? If only they could update the site to show the houses and addresses of those who complain… ____________________________________________
The site invites people who are frustrated with their noisy, disgusting, rotten neighbors and gives them a forum for writing all about it on the internet. Then, these complaints show up on the site along with a satellite photo of the offending neighbor’s house marked out nicely on a convenient google map. Yikes! Though the implications of this are tremendous, I can tell you right now that there are two problems with this that are very apparent to me.
Number One: A bunch of anonymous posts complaining about "rotten neighbors" on the internet is virtually useless. Though it may be a great theory to give home buyers an easy way to find out if their prospective new home is located next door to a pack of mannerless degenerates, there’s an awful lot of missing information here. Who are these posters anyway? Thirteen year olds down the block who are holding a grudge? Spurned exes? People with differing political opinions? Who knows. This basically unmoderated forum is open to anyone who cares to slander their neighbors for whatever reason.
Number Two: There's no substitute for talking to actual people. If you really want to know who the rotten neighbors are and where the rotten neighborhoods are – talk to people who know! Call your local realtor and ask, or go right down there and knock on some doors. I know it may sound terribly old fashioned, but advice from someone who knows the area inside and out or talking to folks who live next to the house you want to purchase is the kind of advice that you can take to the bank.
On the other hand, if you use it in reverse, rotten neighbor can actually be a great resource for discovering neighbors you don't want and neighborhoods that are full of enough poisonous anti-community spirit to sink a ship. You just have to look at who is posting. After all, who wants to live next door to a badmouthing snitch? If only they could update the site to show the houses and addresses of those who complain… ____________________________________________
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Comments (1)
Hey Calum and good luck with your blog! I agree with you completely about the premise of that website. I've seen many businesses harmed by anonymous reviews on the internet, and this would be just like that. If done correctly, the reporter in this case should be required to include their real name, address, and a phone number for verification purposes - it doesn't all need to be public, but it would guarantee that those people making the reports are willing to stand by them. That said, I see it as a dangerous tool that could lead to some serious problems and cause feuds, and potentially worse. This is another one of those things that I just don't think needs to exist . . . probably causes more problems than anything else. If you want to screen the neighbors, then get on your feet and screen the neighbors!
Joshua Dorkin, almost 16 years ago