Méfiez vos voisins!

In a unique twist on citizen journalism, an internet service has cropped up to help potential home buyers discover the real dirt on the neighborhoods in which they are considering home purchase -- rottenNEIGHBOR.com. This collaborative zip code- and map-based database allows you to rat out on your bad neighbor(s) so that prospective house buyers will know what to expect if they move to your neighborhood.

A simple search box allows you to enter the zip code of a potential neighborhood and see whether others have made any comments about their neighbors. When I checked out my own zipcode (27278), I was provided the following map:

Mostly I was relieved to find that we weren't added to the rotten neighbor list. Otherwise, it reminded me a bit of the World War II posters used in France to exhort good citizens to report any bad citizenship on the part of one's neighbors.

That was before I started wondering why I would ever want to reduce the chances of one day selling my own home by pointing out the unattractive aspects of my neighborhood -- unless of course I wanted to advertise it by saying, "You know that nosy lady on rottenNEIGHBOR.com? That was me, so don't worry."