# Anybody using Nextdoor, info please? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 8, 2021, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-using-nextdoor-info-please/955742 "2021-12-08T23:57:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-using-nextdoor-info-please/955742/21 "2021-12-09T15:15:50Z")
I signed up to this out of curiosity several years ago, but to be honest, local Facebook groups serve the exact same purpose and are generally, from what I can see, much better used, as pretty much everyone is already on Facebook. Which can’t be said for Nextdoor. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-using-nextdoor-info-please/955742/22 "2021-12-09T15:17:10Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > You don’t get “Why was the helicopter hovering around last night?”? Also ’ Can anyone tell me which idiot owns this car which has been blocking my drive since Tuesday’ ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-using-nextdoor-info-please/955742/23 "2021-12-09T15:24:18Z")
**Modnote** : Please don’t specifically call out other posters in insulting ways outside the Pit. This is pretty mild but definitely not encouraged. _This is just a guidance, not a warning. Nothing on your permanent record._ ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-using-nextdoor-info-please/955742/24 "2021-12-09T15:28:34Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > But then all of a sudden it became a place to rage against the local homeless population in the vilest terms That’s what my local Nextdoor was like entirely, except raging about suspicious (brown) people seen in the neighborhood, people who likely belonged there. The whole thing seemed to run on paranoia and racism. This was a super safe neighborhood with zero crime. It was a really depressing window on my neighbors and I dropped off quickly and never returned. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-using-nextdoor-info-please/955742/25 "2021-12-09T15:45:06Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I signed up to this out of curiosity several years ago, but to be honest, local Facebook groups serve the exact same purpose and are generally, from what I can see, much better used, as pretty much everyone is already on Facebook. I’m not on Facebook, and don’t intend to be. I know others who are online but also aren’t on Facebook. They’re trying to be ubiquitous; but the techniques they use put some people off instead of drawing them in. Reading through the thread: looks like it depends a great deal what the individual group is like; but I think I might take a chance at it, probably taking the advice not to use a main email address. The site claims you can adjust the frequency of emails in your account, but it does look like you need an account to do that. And I’m not sure what you can adjust it to. – We actually do sometimes get helicopters hovering around. Usually they’re airlifting somebody to the hospital. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-using-nextdoor-info-please/955742/26 "2021-12-09T15:49:30Z")
> [@FinsToTheLeft](#): > > My particular neighbourhood is not busy, largely consisting of: > > - Where is my cat? > - Is this your cat? > - Is the power out? > - What was that crash? > - Why do anti-vaxxers do what they do? > - Why do vaxxers do what they do? > - I still can’t find my cat. Please help! > > I probably check it once per week. “Was that fireworks or a gunshot?” “Does anyone know about the police/fire activity at X location?” ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-using-nextdoor-info-please/955742/27 "2021-12-09T15:50:55Z")
I get no email from NextDoor based on asking it not to send any. I don’t read it like Reddit, but use it if I want to give away a piece of furniture, get a roofer recommendation, want to find out about something on fire, or locate the home of a foreign cat in the garage. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-using-nextdoor-info-please/955742/28 "2021-12-09T15:58:14Z")
Out of curiosity, I entered my address. I was offered the opportunity of being the founding member of my neighborhood group! Heh. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-using-nextdoor-info-please/955742/29 "2021-12-09T16:32:39Z")
Nextdoor must be on a membership drive or something. I got an email from them today claiming that “a neighbor” wanted me to sign up. First time I’ve heard from them since I left. I guess they still have my email from when I was in it before, but that’s okay, that’s what “mark as spam” is for. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-using-nextdoor-info-please/955742/30 "2021-12-09T16:35:37Z")
We do get the helicopter hovering posts too. I include that in the “crash/gunfire/fireworks/barking dog” category. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-using-nextdoor-info-please/955742/31 "2021-12-09T16:47:27Z")
I get a lot of blurry Ring camera pictures - ‘this guy was knocking on my door yesterday, omg’. ‘This car turned around in my driveway, omg’. ‘Who is this woman standing looking at my house, omg’. … Beware you can be banished for crimes a la Facebook - do not use anything slightly like a racial slur, or call a raving lunatic an ‘idiot’ or get dragged into a political shit-fest. I was kicked out for a month because I dared suggest raving religious fundies were no better than common sinners underneath all their praying. … I have, however, managed to give away a lot of unwanted things, books, bird seed, toys and puzzles, and canned and boxed food. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-using-nextdoor-info-please/955742/32 "2021-12-09T17:11:43Z")
> [@salinqmind1](#): > > do not use anything slightly like a racial slur, or call a raving lunatic an ‘idiot’ or get dragged into a political shit-fest. The first two are no problem. The third may take some willpower. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-using-nextdoor-info-please/955742/33 "2021-12-09T17:28:37Z")
The first two things, one might say something inadvertently, now seen to be ‘racist’ - I offered a recipe for ‘Indian Pudding’, a cornmeal/molasses baked milk pudding, on a recipe site and was chastised for daring to use the ‘I’ word. 🙄 … I’ve learned to not call raving lunatics anything harsh because they speak for themselves … but I have long ago learned Do Not get dragged into arguing with anti-vaxxers, tRumptards, or maskholes. They, too, speak for themselves. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-using-nextdoor-info-please/955742/34 "2021-12-09T17:40:09Z")
I signed up for Nextdoor at the recommendation of someone here, but there were not enough people around to form a group, and boy howdy did the site nag me and nag me and nag me to do … I dunno, something, I guess go harass everyone to sign up. I eventually unsubscribed as my inbox fills up with enough junk as it is. My office just had some weird interaction with Nextdoor. There is an old email address in our system that is no longer assigned to anyone (if you send an email to it, the email is re-routed to our office manager). It’s basically dead but every now and then something comes in on that address. A few days ago we got a cryptic message suggesting that the email had been used to sign up for Nextdoor. Very odd and with a faint odor of scam emanating from it. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-using-nextdoor-info-please/955742/35 "2021-12-09T17:47:32Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > I’m not on Facebook, and don’t intend to be. > > I know others who are online but also aren’t on Facebook. They’re trying to be ubiquitous; but the techniques they use put some people off instead of drawing them in. Oh I agree with you, I hate Facebook. But it does get more local traffic that Nextdoor, at least in my neck of the woods ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-using-nextdoor-info-please/955742/36 "2021-12-09T17:51:39Z")
My “favorites” are: “OMG, I just saw a coyote!!!11!! Hide your children and pets!! Call animal control! We must kill it!!” Soon followed by: “OMG, the bunnies are destroying my garden! How can I get rid of them??” ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-using-nextdoor-info-please/955742/37 "2021-12-09T19:11:57Z")
Hardly ever use it. I joined NextDoor a year ago (fake name and pic, no problem). I used my “sign up to get coupons from stores” email, which I rarely check. I do check it before I go to buy something, just in case Mildred around the corner has one for $2. And I did buy my latest car from a widow on NextDoor, but that’s an exception. Other than that, I’ll check it maybe five times a year. I just skim for news and sales, and scroll past posts like: “Did anyone see those minority kids loitering on Biddy Street last night?” “With flat brims?” “Why, they did have brims!” “Did they have Uzis? I hear they loiter with Uzis!” “No, I think one had a Yoohoo.” ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-using-nextdoor-info-please/955742/38 "2021-12-09T19:19:21Z")
I signed up for Nextdoor, but I rarely post. I do get their “digest” emails everyday, which I occasionally scan to see if there’s anything interesting. It seems like many of the posts there are along the lines of: - I saw a “suspicious” person in the neighborhood. - Some asshole ran a stop sign/sped through the neighborhood - Complaints about bad service at a local business - OMG, I saw a coyote (like the post above) - People looking for recommendations for a handyman or other tradesperson. - Lost/found pets There’s also a phenomenon that’s local to this area with the influx of people moving here from the Bay Area in search of cheaper housing: “Can anyone recommend a good Mexican/Chinese/Thai/Vietnamese restaurant?” People post their favorite restaurants in the requested category. “I tried that place already. It sucks compared to the Mexican/Chinese/Thai/Vietnamese places I was used to in the Bay Area.” ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-using-nextdoor-info-please/955742/39 "2021-12-09T19:37:38Z")
Nextdoor is a training ground for Karens. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-using-nextdoor-info-please/955742/40 "2021-12-09T20:08:33Z")
> [@Turek](#): > > “OMG, I just saw a coyote!!!11!! Hide your children and pets!! Call animal control! We must kill it!!” > > Soon followed by: > > “OMG, the bunnies are destroying my garden! How can I get rid of them??” Around here, I’d expect more likely ‘I just saw coyote and I have chickens! Are coyote in season? Anybody with a license want to get this one for me?’ Personally, I think coyote are a beneficial. But then, I raise produce, not sheep. (And I keep my cats in at night.) I may use the initial technique – although the first name I usually go by is distinctive. I’m not going to use a fake name; seems to go against the purpose of the site, for one thing, and for another I might well get caught out on it and that would likely tick people off. > [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Nextdoor is a training ground for Karens. Might depend on the group. If that’s all or most of what I get, I won’t hang around long. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-using-nextdoor-info-please/955742.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-using-nextdoor-info-please/955742.md?page=3)