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Nextdoor is replacing the small-town paper

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Re: Nextdoor is replacing the small-town paper

#41

Post by tshaddox »

hawktheslayer wrote: post #4

I tried Nextdoor but quickly closed the app when it was filled with rumors about who in the neighborhood isn't cleaning up after their dog. Maybe I'm throwing away the baby with the bath water, but I don't feel like I miss out on all that much by forgoing yet another social media platform vying for my attention

I understand why it might be harmful (or at least annoying) to see people spreading rumors about who isn't cleaning up after their dog, but I'm curious how you might better handle the problem of people in the neighborhood not cleaning up after their dog.

Re: Nextdoor is replacing the small-town paper

#42

Post by HarryHirsch »

ke7in wrote: post #37
koolba wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Small town papers had letters to the editor that could get quite colorful but there was a modicum of class on the part of most editors not to publish to the truly disgusting. Nextdoor style discussion were previously relegated to inner social circles after dropping your kids off at soccer.

It feels like NextDoor is late to the moderation party. As Facebook and Twitter are finding themselves somewhat responsible for what users spew, NextDoor will see the actions like those called out by the top commenter happen much quicker.

Someone might have feet ashamed to type up stuff that you don't really say and send it to the local paper, when you meet someone working there at church every Sunday. But everyone knows that Facebook moderation is outsourced to the Philippines, so it doesn't matter what you say, and if you use thr right whistle-words it might just slip past the in a faraway low-wage country.

Re: Nextdoor is replacing the small-town paper

#43

Post by asciident »

koolba wrote: post #17
valentinemsmith wrote: post #9

Were small-town papers just as toxic, or is it just my community here in SF? In the last month, on NextDoor, they doxxed and banded together to get the mentally-challenged skateboarder who’s been my neighborhood for years, and had him arrested because a user felt threatened by him standing around the neighborhood shouting obscenities during manic episodes. (He’s now in jail and this NextDoor thread is trying to make…

Small town papers had letters to the editor that could get quite colorful but there was a modicum of class on the part of most editors not to publish to the truly disgusting. Nextdoor style discussion were previously relegated to inner social circles after dropping your kids off at soccer.

So I find NextDoor to simply have a different culture. If they saw the comments on Hacker News or Reddit, they would probably similarly call it toxic and that its users assumes the worst of others. When I read NextDoor posts, I put on my NextDoor glasses, and when I read Hacker News posts, I put on Hacker News glasses.

They have a different set of values, and are offended by different things. Calling out a person they find suspicious (who ends up not being suspicious) would get some eyerolling but not considered deeply offensive there, the same way that some antisocial behaviors here are not immediately banworthy.

Re: Nextdoor is replacing the small-town paper

#44

Post by jldugger »

valentinemsmith wrote: post #9

Were small-town papers just as toxic, or is it just my community here in SF? In the last month, on NextDoor, they doxxed and banded together to get the mentally-challenged skateboarder who’s been my neighborhood for years, and had him arrested because a user felt threatened by him standing around the neighborhood shouting obscenities during manic episodes. (He’s now in jail and this NextDoor thread is trying to make…

Is this the same guy that I regularly see skating down Stevens Creek Blvd with headphones on while shouting random stuff while ignoring pretty much every traffic law? Cuz I definitely don't feel safe around people that unpredictable.

Re: Nextdoor is replacing the small-town paper

#45

Post by mdesq »

goles wrote: post #35
valentinemsmith wrote: post #9

Were small-town papers just as toxic, or is it just my community here in SF? In the last month, on NextDoor, they doxxed and banded together to get the mentally-challenged skateboarder who’s been my neighborhood for years, and had him arrested because a user felt threatened by him standing around the neighborhood shouting obscenities during manic episodes. (He’s now in jail and this NextDoor thread is trying to make…

This is contrary to my Nextdoor experience in middle America suburbs. Most of the posting is fairly benign posting of lost/found dogs or cats, craigslist like sales, asking for HVAC/contracting referrals, or suggesting people support certain small businesses during COVID. The other day an elderly couple put up a post asking for help removing snow and ice from their sidewalk/driveway because they are disabled. About a…

This is my experience (greater Raleigh, NC). It's people asking for referrals for painters or experiences with various Internet service providers. Or lost dogs; so many lost/found dogs.

Re: Nextdoor is replacing the small-town paper

#46

Post by davidw »

No, it is not.

The small town paper where I live sends someone to sit through city council meetings, which at times decide important things, but often debate relatively unimportant things in lengthly, excruciating detail. Like that time I went to comment about a housing issue that was important to me and had to sit through a discussion of the city sign code.

In any event, even people who care about one thing or the other are not going to report on the important goings-on of your city council or planning commission. If they happen to, it probably won't be anything like an unbiased account.

Re: Nextdoor is replacing the small-town paper

#47

Post by sumthinprofound »

ghaff wrote: post #26
sumthinprofound wrote: post #23

I gave up on NextDoor after one day. I subscribe to 2 local daily papers. I get a wider range of news and the awareness of local events/new restaurants than I do online (where my news consumption is 90% via RSS (innoreader, excellent app btw)). I've found that since covid, the local papers have done some impressive longform deep dive stories (science, health, human interest). NextDoor is a social media platform which…

Many places have exactly zero local daily papers. My town had a labor of love for a few years before the publisher fell ill. Now there's basically nothing unless something is big enough to hit a more broadly targeted audience. So Next Door/Facebook. (7K person town.)

How is the quality of news sources for your area that you find on facebook? I try to get as little news from fb as possible.

Re: Nextdoor is replacing the small-town paper

#48

Post by mosdave »

tshaddox wrote: post #41
hawktheslayer wrote: post #4

I tried Nextdoor but quickly closed the app when it was filled with rumors about who in the neighborhood isn't cleaning up after their dog. Maybe I'm throwing away the baby with the bath water, but I don't feel like I miss out on all that much by forgoing yet another social media platform vying for my attention

I understand why it might be harmful (or at least annoying) to see people spreading rumors about who isn't cleaning up after their dog, but I'm curious how you might better handle the problem of people in the neighborhood not cleaning up after their dog.

two options:

a.) you confront them when you witness them doing it b.) nothing

Re: Nextdoor is replacing the small-town paper

#49

Post by goles »

jedberg wrote: post #39
goles wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is contrary to my Nextdoor experience in middle America suburbs. Most of the posting is fairly benign posting of lost/found dogs or cats, craigslist like sales, asking for HVAC/contracting referrals, or suggesting people support certain small businesses during COVID. The other day an elderly couple put up a post asking for help removing snow and ice from their sidewalk/driveway because they are disabled. About a…

Out of curiosity, are these neighborhoods mostly one race and one socioeconomic class? It seems like racism and classicism are the biggest issues.

Sure those could certainly be exacerbating factors. I'm a pretty private person so I'll just say the area is majority white and and a high median income area.

I guess my question is how do you weigh good outcome areas generating positive outcomes from using the platform vs. lower performing outcome areas generating negative outcomes (e.g. mentally-challenged skateboarder) in their area.

The platform isn't generating the content of the area. The content is just a reflection of the users in the geographical area.

Re: Nextdoor is replacing the small-town paper

#50

Post by goles »

mdesq wrote: post #45
goles wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is contrary to my Nextdoor experience in middle America suburbs. Most of the posting is fairly benign posting of lost/found dogs or cats, craigslist like sales, asking for HVAC/contracting referrals, or suggesting people support certain small businesses during COVID. The other day an elderly couple put up a post asking for help removing snow and ice from their sidewalk/driveway because they are disabled. About a…

This is my experience (greater Raleigh, NC). It's people asking for referrals for painters or experiences with various Internet service providers. Or lost dogs; so many lost/found dogs.

I see dozens of people losing their dog/cat every day in my small pop area. How are so many people losing track of their pets? just an aside...
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