Fen C.

Never forget that Nextdoor is an advertising business and so, legally, its first allegiance must be to its shareholders. 2nd, 3rd & 4th will be directors, executive management, staff etc... then users ("members") i. E "us".

We, "users"/"members", are "the product" - Nextdoor sells our "advertising eyeballs" to advertisers for money. Nextdoor is free to us in the sense that we don't have a direct-debit with our bank paying for our Nextdoor membership. But it's not free. Our collective "advertising eyeballs" (c. 27 million of us!) are worth money - and that's how Nextdoor *makes* its money - by selling our eyeballs to advertisers for money. Local "Moderators" and "Leads" are, essentially, Nextdoor's "enforcers" of what's "good for Nextdoor's revenues and shareholders". They don't get paid in money; they get paid by being given a sense of power and control over their own local "fifedom" - and you're in that fifedom. We know the old saying about what power does...

So it's no surprise that the "moderating" on Nextdoor is less than perfect, in turn making Nextdoor less than perfect, especially if you're looking for something fair and balanced and objectively managed.

Nextdoor does perform some useful functions. It'll find you a plumber, help find your lost cat, recommend an electrician - lots of things - but it comes at quite a high price. You might not feel like you're buying (paying for) Nextdoor's serices, but you are ("advertising eyeballs", remember). So "caveat emptor"!

Use it for sure; but never forget what it really is.