I Had Fun, Fun, Fun 'Til Someone Got Nervous, and Had My Nextdoor Account Disabled.

I was wondering how long I'd last back on Nextdoor (ND).  Art Gonzalez said he figured me for a week.  I think it was about half that.

I suppose "it's deja vu all over again."  It was back in 2016, and I was...running for office.  Someone apparently repeatedly contacted ND to say I was breaking some mystery rule.  So ND disabled my account, claimed I had broken a rule, wouldn't tell me what the rule was, and wouldn't let me back on unless I agreed to stop breaking rules.  (This is sort of like the lawyers' "are you still beating your wife" question.)

The fact was, I wasn't having a good time, and I didn't feel any further need to involve myself with ND, so I dropped it.  I didn't need ND for anything, and I had nothing it was my pleasure to offer.

Then, recently -- because a number of people I know are involved with ND, and talk about various posts and characters there -- I was thinking that maybe I should check in.  I discovered I could read ND posts without being an activated member, but I just couldn't comment.  The ND censors have extremely long memories.

And it hit me.  The entree to ND is via the e-mail address.  But I have an old one that I never closed, but I don't use.  So I signed up with the old address, created some password, and got full access.  I still didn't really want anything, and all I did was check in from time to time.  Until one of my friends called me to say William Abreu, who is a Commission candidate, unloaded on me on ND.  Then another of my friends, who is himself a Commission candidate, called me to tell me the same thing.  So, hey.  That's what an active account is for.

So I defended myself, tried to correct outrageous mischaracterizations (I'm assuming William is being honest, and was simply mistaken), parried, and interacted with various people (William and several of the commenters).  I even took a little side trip, and wrote a nice comment to Gary Kuhl about some unrelated post of his.  But almost all of my activity was about Abreu's post.

And then, it was over.  I posted one more comment, and I got a message saying my account was disabled.  Mac Kennedy says someone must have complained (duh).  Dan Keys said my comments had been removed.  Someone else was "so tired of the political games on that site...This shit really pisses me off."

ND exists everywhere.  It's a pervasive franchise.  Frankly, it has a lot to offer.  Sure, there's a certain amount of...silliness there.  But adaptive and adult people could really use it to connect about a number of things.  They give each other references for tradespeople, and they give each other helpful advice.  The fact is, there's nothing at all wrong with discussions, and even debates, about community matters, and politics.  People interact about those things all the time.

William Abreu wasn't nice to me.  He was nasty.  It's hard to say he wasn't dishonest.  In my opinion, he made a fool of himself.  Maybe someone else would think I made a fool of myself.  But that's OK.  William and I are running for office, against each other.  If either of us is foolish, then the public has a right to know that.  They should know it.

And I have no objection to referees.  Sometimes, they're necessary.  As long as they themselves are fair, and honest.  But they shouldn't choose winners and losers.  Once they play games like that, they lose their legitimacy.

So I think ND and I have a mutually agreed understanding.  They run their site any way they want, and I'll see you around the campus.