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Original poster

Does anyone use 'nextdoor'? Is it me or is it really vicious?!

32 replies

AnnListersBlister · 13/12/2022 21:44

I think I am going to come off it! I haven't found it particularly useful either.

Nor am I sensitive to what people say to me online but honestly!

I agreed with someone about something and they started a full-scale rant with me, arguing! And all I'd done was say yes, I agree (and basically paraphrased what they'd said).

A young woman had put an advertisement up for a lodger in her house and asked for a female, and preferably a Muslim woman.

I responded saying to be careful putting her personal mobile number up on such an advert (in a very polite way!), maybe I was a busybody? I've just had some 'funny' phone calls in the recent past and thought she may not have thought of this.

She's taken the advert down now, but before she did I had a notification to state that someone else had commented stating she can put her number up without needing to listen to racist ignorant comments 'from the likes of me'! How on earth was I racist?

I've also put up an advertisement for some free clothes, nothing particularly special but all only worn once or not at all, perfectly good clothes and got a load of random people telling me how awful they were. They were just basics, jumpers, jackets, T-Shirts-for nothing just things I'd not worn for whatever reason that I thought may be of use to someone.

Is it just me/my community?

OP posts:
Taswama · 13/12/2022 21:46

Sounds like bad luck. I don't post on mine but comments that I read seem fine, mostly seem to be discussing the traffic, local burglaries or how lovely the nature reserve is looking.

Original poster
AnnListersBlister · 13/12/2022 22:24

Taswama · 13/12/2022 21:46

Sounds like bad luck. I don't post on mine but comments that I read seem fine, mostly seem to be discussing the traffic, local burglaries or how lovely the nature reserve is looking.

That is such a lovely combination! Grin

Maybe just me then. I honestly thought I lived in a nice-ish community!

OP posts:
longtompot · 13/12/2022 22:56

Mine always start with with what seems an innocuous message which lights the touch paper and always ends up with pages of messages and invariably end up with the same people arguing. I keep thinking of removing myself from it and deleting it but sometimes it's useful

Tuichi · 13/12/2022 23:10

There are names on mine that reoccur time and again with rants and getting into silly arguments. A lively one the other day was about a local cafe taking up two car parking spaces by having some outside tables and chairs. Full-on rant about the council accompanied by photos of the tables. Much discussion of whether the tables were ever folded up and a tangent about whether the owners were exploitative because someone’s niece did some washing up as part of an interview but didn’t get the job. Then there are the depressing posts where someone is trying to offload a cat or dog to whoever responds to them first. I’m always impressed by the patience of responders who gently give advice about why that isn’t a good idea and point them in the right direction.

We found a decent decorator and a fantastic gardener through it. But also a roofer who ripped us off.

Mixed bag.

AlwaysGinPlease · 13/12/2022 23:15

@Tuichi same here Re unwanted animals. Thick twats giving them " free to a good home" Also full of Dog poop posts and CFs scrounging free goods but turning their nose up at what is offered to them. Rarely anything interesting or helpful.

Wibbly1008 · 13/12/2022 23:17

It’s a nasty app. Full of vicious people with time on their hands looking to start a fight. The racism on there ?! Wow. I have reported at least three posts of people trying to whip up a hate storm. It’s genuinely nasty.

TheDogsMother · 13/12/2022 23:17

I'm sorry you have had a bad experience but you might like a listen of Welcome to the Neighbourhood on BBC Sounds. It's the lighter side of exactly what you are speaking about.

XenoBitch · 13/12/2022 23:29

I feel well behind the times, but what is 'Nextdoor'?
Is it chat app for people in your neighbourhood?

baroqueandblue · 14/12/2022 00:12

Wibbly1008 · 13/12/2022 23:17

It’s a nasty app. Full of vicious people with time on their hands looking to start a fight. The racism on there ?! Wow. I have reported at least three posts of people trying to whip up a hate storm. It’s genuinely nasty.

Left it years ago for exactly this reason. It's a cesspit, or like turning over a rock and finding all sorts of creepy stuff underneath. And you realise, these nasty, ignorant, racist, homophobic idiots could quite literally be living Next Door to you!

Well, not much I can do about it if they are, but I don't want to be reminded of it every time I look at my phone 🧐

AccidentalWhippet · 14/12/2022 00:18

It's a cess pit of racism and mean spirited ness. Most of the posts are about missing cats but the others are unbelievably nasty. Thankfully none of my next door neighbours are on it. I actually like them and want it to stay that way.

Original poster
AnnListersBlister · 14/12/2022 06:53

I am glad it isn't just me. I am going to come off it. I have not found it helpful at all in any case. I thought it just seemed like a more community-based version of facebook, but it seems to be a free-for-all of nastiness. Strange as most folk use their real names on there, too!

OP posts:
Theunamedcat · 14/12/2022 07:01

We get complaints about rats they live next to a river/canal what do they expect? Then it's complaints about McDonald's not the mess or the traffic no no its the cleaners they send out to pick up the mess that are the issue apparently he missed a can and went back and picked it up when it was pointed out to him (McDonald's don't sell drinks in cans) I still cannot work out what the issue was

piedbeauty · 14/12/2022 07:03

I stopped using ours for similar reasons. Full of old white men convinced they were right about everything. Racist and sexist.

unname · 14/12/2022 07:05

Mine is fine but I think it’s moderated by volunteers from the community. They delete all the bad stuff quickly. Sometimes that’s annoying because I want to read it!

RedRosie · 14/12/2022 07:11

Our local one swings between cess pit and perfectly fine. I think it does attract a particular kind of person with an agenda/bee in the bonnet/obsession with council cameras ... But I just ignore that. I would call out anything offensive (and have) but it's mostly whining.

Spidey66 · 14/12/2022 07:17

I came off mine a couple of years back. A known troll kept re registering under different names and in neighbouring areas and kept stirring up trouble until eventually his new ID was banned. I repeatedly reported him to ND and told them they are clearly not verifying addresses as they say they are, seeing as he was giving different details all the time. I came off for my own sanity.

Suboptimalsitch · 14/12/2022 07:18

Ours is generally awful - full of weirdos, CFs, parking bores, people with far too much time on their hands , endless missing cats, dogs and rabbits, people trying to sell second hand crap at ridiculous prices, MLM loons, occasional racists. Somehow though it’s fascinating so I do look at it and just very rarely there’ll be something useful on it. But generally ours is horrible.

Thefriendlyone · 14/12/2022 07:25

Gosh I’m surprised at this, ours is totally dull and full of folks being nice and polite to each other. Genuinely

torquewench · 14/12/2022 07:25

I find it a very odd app. Someone on mine asked people to ID a cat which had been fighting with hers in their garden, then went and moaned at the owners about it.

QueueEtwo · 14/12/2022 07:27

I left it for this very reason, full of covid & vaccine deniers but rejoined when I lost my cat so I could post about him.

I think it's better now but I don't spend much time on there!

gogohmm · 14/12/2022 08:01

Mostly it's locating lost cats here. Very friendly and during lockdown we arranged walking trips for new residents

whatayear22 · 14/12/2022 08:02

The same kind of posts happen here. The perpetually offended are everywhere.

Walkingtheplank · 14/12/2022 08:13

Mine is full of 'found' cats that people are feeding, photos of cars that have been parked outside someone's house, reports of men/youths/foreigners existing near someone's house, questions about why an ambulance has driven past. It's the modern day garden fence, with mostly bored retired men and a few younger male Labour activists leaning on it.

It's a Safeguarding nightmare. If you wanted to find someone you'd just say, 'I've found John Smith's Oystercard / Does anyone recognise this car (that belongs to my estranged wife)" and lots of people would give out their address.

howrudeforme · 14/12/2022 08:44

Mine is a mix. Some of it helpful like recommendations for electricians etc. public notices. People post nice photos of landscapes.

But over the lockdown it was pretty awful with people piling in on one another. Lots of Brexit/anti foreigner stuff (like asylum seekers in hotels). Also people accusing each other of racism, being thick, being unemployable, chavs etc. thankfully that seems to have died down (it ran out of steam).

Useful in some ways.

LadyKenya · 14/12/2022 08:48

baroqueandblue · 14/12/2022 00:12

Left it years ago for exactly this reason. It's a cesspit, or like turning over a rock and finding all sorts of creepy stuff underneath. And you realise, these nasty, ignorant, racist, homophobic idiots could quite literally be living Next Door to you!

Well, not much I can do about it if they are, but I don't want to be reminded of it every time I look at my phone 🧐

Show quote history

This. I soon found out that a lot of nasty, ignorant racists live too close to me. People just spoiling for a fight on there, and a lot of people with an empathy bypass. Good grief!