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According to Nextdoor, people are using the site to: quickly get the word out about a break-in; organize a Neighborhood Watch group; track down a trustworthy baby sitter; find out who does the best paint job in town; and ask for help to find a lost dog, among other things.  And its these helpful resources that sparked its popularity.  It was great while it lasted and then it slowly devolved into a forum for “THOSE” people.  

We all know who I am talking about.  Those users on NextDoor or Facebook that are the first to post their trivial concerns and prejudices about random events and then have their raging rants reinforced in a forum for their neighbors that for some reason believe that minor annoyances are federal cases.  These threads often become heated places as individuals passionately debate their beliefs and opinions.  Bored on a Friday night?  Missing Desperate Housewives or the Real Housewives of wherever; pop some popcorn, pour a glass of wine and open up your NextDoor or Facebook page.  If you read it as a source of entertainment, you will find hours of amusing reading.

 
Here are my rules for posting on social media.  Most of these should be common sense, but they still happen – often. Do you always follow these?

 

No Profanity of Any Kind
No swearing/profanity is to be used toward another member of the site in discussion threads.  
 
Do Not Degrade Another Member
If you oppose another person's position in a discussion, respond to them without the use of derogatory comments.  This includes political debates and debates about whether or not the HOA should pay for raccoon removal.  
 
No Unauthorized Advertising
Please refrain from posting unauthorized advertising such as third party websites or products. We want the discussion environment to be a place where individuals genuinely express their interests instead of using the forum for the hidden agenda of advertising. Not everyone is a fan of lularue.  
  
No Nudity or Pornography
This should be an easy one but do not upload nudity or pornographic visual material onto any areas of the site.  Pornography of any kind and pornography drawings still count.
 
No All Caps in Titles or Posts
Using all caps (all capitals) for your titles, posts and quote submissions is unpleasant and unsightly and steals from the positive discussion environment.  I never understand this one.  It just makes it harder to read.  If you want me to read your post, make it easy on the eyes.  
  
Respect the Discussion Environment, Do Not Troll the Site or Other Members
Being a discussion site, the dynamic nature of interaction cannot always be positively facilitated by rules. Examples of derailing the discussion environment include:
•    Hijacking threads - being disruptive to the purpose of the original poster's thread. 
•    Trolling another member - following another member for negative reasons i.e. disliking another user and venting that dislike by repeatedly posting negative comments wherever the other user posts. 
•    Harassing another user. 
•    Not keeping on topic with a discussion. 
  
Use Readable And Legible Language
Write posts that are unreadable, illegible or gibberish. Posts don't have to be written perfectly, but they should be written in English, using appropriate grammar and readable word/sentence structure.  Online tools such as Google Translate are freely available for everyone to utilize.

 

There is hope.  Use the hide user feature to block the negativity from your feed. After a few days,  you will figure out who are the community complainers.   Follow the guidelines for productive and helpful posts so that maybe we can get back to using social media for actually being social and reinforce a positive, welcoming place, where you can share thoughts and ideas with others about the issues that arise from living in an Association. 

 

Your thoughts?