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October 6, 2021
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In a week when Facebook is dominating the news, I’m surprised to find myself caught up in a personal drama about another social media platform called Nextdoor.

On the surface, the issue I’m about to describe would seem insignificant. But even though it doesn’t involve 24 million viewers and $2 million like John Stossel’s lawsuit against Facebook, it does have to do with shaping neighbor-to-neighbor dialogue in communities everywhere, which might be even more important in the long run. And it has to do with humor; namely, what we’re permitted to laugh at.

That’s up my alley, as I’m a humor writer who was already dismayed at what leftists have been doing to put the kibosh on laughs. The term “political correctness” came about to describe the way thoughts must be expressed to be acceptable in this day and time. It demands a lack of courage that pretty much spells death to comedy, which thrives not just on pushing the inside of the envelope but on ripping it open. Suffer through a few socially-approved evenings with Stephen Colbert or Trevor Noah and you’ll see immediately what I mean.

To set up my story, some months ago (hard to remember exactly), a man in my town who is on Nextdoor –- I’ll call him “Andy” –- started posting something he called “Laughter Of The Day.” The idea was that since we’re all dealing with covid, some of us stuck at home or even quarantined, he would send a few laughs in the way of corny “dad” jokes that, I assume, came mostly right out of an old joke book from the 1950s. They would be posted every week, and were always good for a groan, an eye-roll, or sometimes a big laugh out loud. Writing funny lines is my stock and trade --- you know that if you watch “In Case You Missed It” on the Governor’s TV show on TBN --- and I still loved his dated old wheezes.

His jokes were definitely NOT PC, though. There were “blonde” jokes (you know, about how dumb blondes are), “Little Johnny” jokes, jokes that made fun of everything. Some would call these jokes guilty pleasures, though to me they were as guilt-free as low-fat salad dressing.

Well, a few weeks ago, suddenly there were no more of Andy’s jokes. I thought he was probably just busy with other things. But this Sunday, somebody posted that he wondered if Andy was all right, as we hadn’t heard from him in a while. A number of neighbors chimed in, saying they were worried about him, too, and missed his jokes. But them someone wrote to say Andy was okay, just “in jail.” That means he’d been suspended from Nextdoor, totally locked out, not able to access the site at all. No reason given. More of Andy’s fans wrote in to post lots of those little red hearts, saying how much they loved Andy’s jokes and wanted him back.

My comment, though, was not little red hearts. It was more like, “What the hey? Andy doesn’t deserve to be ‘in jail.’ I want to know why Nextdoor did this. And I do not want to hear that it’s because of the jokes themselves. I do not want social media nannies telling us what we can and cannot laugh at.” I even said that, to me, “ND” stood for “Nanny Dearest.” (I had already been annoyed with ND for giving me screens asking, “Are you sure you want to publish this?” when I’d said something perfectly polite, accurate and well informed.)

On Monday, Andy was finally allowed (allowed!) to post again, and he put up another “Laughter Of The Day,” which I thought was his best ever.

Anyway, on Tuesday, when I tried to contact Andy through a PM (private message), I found that I myself couldn’t get into the site, at all. For most of the day, I was “locked out,” perhaps because of my diatribe against social media nanny-ism, but I don’t know for sure (because they don’t tell you). Later in the day, I was finally able to access the site and write to Andy. I suppose I’ll never know whether they locked me out deliberately or if it was just a weirdly coincidental computer glitch, but I don’t much care. This story is not about me, but rather what was done to Andy and his jokes.

Andy said he’d been working on setting up a group, just for the people who wanted to see his jokes. I told him this was the last straw for me and I was leaving Nextdoor. He said he was almost to that point himself.

I got this note from him on Tuesday:

“Laura. Just to let you know, I've already been reported for my post yesterday, over posting and for my Blonde jokes. So if they throw me in jail or delete me for good, it's been a pleasure.”

The worst thing about political correctness isn’t that easily-offended people don’t want to see the jokes --- it’s that they don’t want YOU to see the jokes. They don’t want YOU to be able to laugh at them.

I don’t know how far up the line the decision to take someone’s content off Nextdoor is made –- I would guess not very far –- but I went to their website to see who’s involved at the upper levels. To my surprise, Nextdoor is HUGE. Though it seems small and neighborly on your computer screen, it’s headed by people from all over the world. It’s based in San Francisco and, as of this March, is in 11 countries. It’s valued in the billions of dollars. Here’s a video I found called “The Story Of Nextdoor.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RELH-3a_-tI

It mentions problems arising from “moderators who are given significant power with very little training, if any, and can control the narrative of the town by censoring posts and making other people moderators with no accountability attached.” But the examples they give have to do specifically with racist content. The control they exert goes way beyond that.

Read some of the comments after the video, and you’ll see I'm not alone in saying Nextdoor is a place of censorship and progressive propaganda.

On their website, the “Neighborhood Vitality Advisory Board” includes “diverse academics and experts, in the fields of social psychology, equality and civic engagement.” Looking at the educational background and career focus of most of these participants, I imagine they’re far too “woke” to laugh at Andy’s “blonde” jokes. And I’ll bet they wouldn’t want you laughing at them, either.

https://about.nextdoor.com/team/

I’ve had some good experiences with Nextdoor --- found some great service providers, and met someone who is now a dear friend. Social media wouldn’t be so pervasive in our lives if it didn’t provide benefits. But just like Facebook and Twitter, Nextdoor has anointed itself the arbiter of our conversations, controlling and shaping the narrative in ways both overt and subtle --- and that's nothing to laugh at.

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Comments 21-30 of 32

  • Robert Sagrillo

    02/06/2022 03:36 PM

    The reason Huckabee was locked out of NextDoor is because the CEO is Sarah Friar a ex-employee of Square which is owned and run by none other than Jack Dorsey. Further, she sits on the board of Walmart another left leaning bastion of communist democrats.

  • don riley

    02/06/2022 02:21 PM

    Laura,

    You struck an exposed nerve with this column.

    As we both know, there is a desperate need for a genuine, widely available alternative to the morally and intellectually corrupt social media so completely dominated by the ilk you described so accurately.

    Having had the pleasure of Mike's acquaintance, beginning with his being the guest speaker at my home for a fundraiser for an AR State Senator friend during his governorship and continuing through seeing him on occasion during his period of residency in FL, I know firsthand his charm, grace and intellect. We share a number of friends in both AR and FL, especially a couple of close friends of mine, Sharon Trusty in AR and Suzanne Harris, Don and Matt Gaetz and Art Miller in FL.

    I can only hope that Mike can use his national name and persuasiveness to help organize an alternative forum for those of us in the center and to the right. Surely there are sufficient numbers of wealthy, influential individuals willing to lend their names, organizations and money to organize the people and infrastructure required to offer a good alternative to the Facebooks, Twitters, and NextDoors of the world.

    I do receive NextDoor notifications to keep up with my rather rural neighbors near my part-time lake home, and I find it very useful for just what you noted. Tradesmen, house and yard help and their like recommended for or against by neighbors. Since we're speaking of a small group of folks in and around a small and dedicated to rural lake near Tupelo, MS, the postings are usually related to the tradesmen et al and not to politics.

    I don't do any other social media, but then, I'm 79. I do however read online voraciously every day, and in the cases of the WSJ and NRO, that reading often includes the comments sections. In the case of the WSJ, its Comments moderation would fit right in with what you have described with the Left Coast-based bastions of Cancel Culture, sufficiently so that I no longer add my thoughts to the WSJ Comments.

    Mike has done America a huge service throughout his life, and I appreciate that you are allied with him in that endeavor to make this country the best it can be for our children and theirs. I hope he can find other like-minded souls to join him in providing such an alternative for those of us who believe in the vision of our Founders in giving us a country predicated on Life, Liberty, the Pursuit of Happiness, God, Family, and our fellow man.

    I don't have the luxury of great wealth, but I do have time, a reasonable circle of friends in multiple states devoted to those timeless principles, and a willingness to communicate with them and encourage them to spread the word in their own circles. And when and if the time comes, I'm willing to kick in a little money and to subscribe in paying fashion for such an alternative, realizing of course that any such venture would need to be free to all comers while welcoming contributions in order to attract a big enough base to be of interest to sponsors and to attract enough clicks to sustain. All things with which you and Mike and your business team are familiar to a greater degree than I.

    In any event, thanks for your valuable and valued work. I look forward to it each day.

    Don Riley, M.D.

  • Daphna Yurfest

    02/06/2022 01:48 PM

    Over 3 years ago I joined my local neighborhood on NextDoor, it did not last too long, liberals just can stand it when you have different opinions than yours… they would report anyone!

  • Bob Ernst

    02/06/2022 12:31 PM

    Last night I tried to post a NextDoor message that contained the word "gun". It wouldn't let me post. I changed the word to "firearm" (same meaning!) and it zipped right through. It's quite frightening how far this censorship is going.

  • Jim Lyon

    02/05/2022 11:42 AM

    I was on Nextdoor a few years ago and lasted about 6 months.
    I left not because of the moderators but because of all the libturds. I'm not even sure if they had moderators because I posted some very un-pc comments.
    My problem was, like you, I would post facts in a friendly way with no name calling.
    To say I got trashed by my neighbors would be a gross understatement.
    I was talking to my wife last night about ND and that I was thinking of "testing the waters." Thanks to you, I don't have to submit myself to the abuse. BTW, I quit farcebook last year and use MeWe. Much friendlier place.

  • Kathy Dawson

    02/05/2022 12:05 AM

    NextDoor nearly got me sued. I purchased $5,000 worth of Mary Kay products for resale and then got frustrated because everyone wanted to purchase the products for half price (what I paid for them) and were offended that I insisted on adding the tax (that I paid) and the shipping (that I paid). I offered the products for a reduced price on a supposedly closed site available to only my town. I clearly marked the choice of my town only. The next thing I knew, Mary Kay representatives in a city 400 miles away had turned me in to Mary Kay corporate and a lawyer was telling me I had no right to sell the products. When I followed up and tried to find out why this supposed local site was posted elsewhere, I discovered this group was indeed nationwide, posting my private information and had NO WAY TO OP OUT. You might also warn people about Google (Big Brother). My husband and I were discussing our plan to purchase a twin bed mattress while he was on his computer. The instant the words left my mouth ads started to pop up on his computer over what he had open. He finally left Facebook because all it was was ads that he couldn't block. I have unsynced all my devices and refuse to allow my location on my phone to be posted. Good luck!

  • J. Yvonne Jones

    02/04/2022 11:09 PM

    Thanks for this info! Several years ago NextDoor was making the rounds in my neighborhood, with numerous friends and neighbors urging me to join. After reading the fine print, I felt it was too invasive and I declined. I hadn't thought about them for a long time, but now I'm very glad I opted not to join.

  • Gary Stilwell

    02/04/2022 10:27 PM

    re: nextdoor
    This post is extremely accurate, but certainly not all inclusive,. This site is way more subversive than you could ever imagine--they do it under the guise of being a "neighbor". I dumped this site long ago-just because of their policies that they refused to explain.
    They limit free speech(no, they actually 'suppress' it). The site is much larger than one would guess. It is also one that negatively influences folks in very subtle ways--they allow gay meeting notices, but if you want to advertise a charity Catholic fundraiser you get slammed---I have lost the name of the author, but it was a man, and he said "we(US) would never be defeated from outside aggression, we will be defeated from within"---this web application and their creators are actively working "from within"

  • Randy Stevens

    02/04/2022 07:31 PM

    After reading your article about NextDoor I logged out and deleted it. I still use FakeBook and Twitter but I’m Leary and aware of the pitfalls. Thank you the article.

  • Doug Arndt

    10/08/2021 06:08 PM

    I was once on nextdoor, it seems to be a local neighborhood bunch (even if the platform is large), questions/answers were local. I say "once", back when the "pandemic" had just started, and learning the value of Vit C, I passed that information on, well ... it reminded me of Animal House. I was banned shortly thereafter.