How you can help
Everyone can help prevent and respond to racial profiling on Nextdoor. Whether you're getting to know your neighbors better, reaching out to someone directly, or contacting Nextdoor Support, we're here to make sure you have the tools and support you need.
Reaching out to your neighbor
Resources
Most of the time when someone posts about crime or suspicious activity in a way that violates Nextdoor’s Community Guidelines, they’re genuinely trying to be helpful. Give them the benefit of the doubt. If you feel comfortable reaching out to your neighbor, please let them know about Nextdoor's best practices, while being sure to do so in a way that is understanding and instructive, and not accusatory:
Sample messages about how to describe crime on Nextdoor
Nextdoor
Speaking up against everyday bigotry
SPLC
Tips for talking about racial profiling
The Opportunity Agenda
The life changing magic of hanging out
NY Times
- Thank them for looking out for the neighborhood and taking time to write a post
- Let them know about Nextdoor’s best practices by providing this link: https://help.nextdoor.com/s/article/How-to-communicate-a-crime
- Ask them to edit the post using these best practices
Although every situation is a little different, we’ve put together some recommended language that you are welcome to use when writing your message.
Something else to consider when composing this message is whether you will post it publicly as a reply or in a private message:
Public replies. If you think your neighbor will respond well to a friendly reply and you’d like to make a point to the broader neighborhood at the same time, write a public reply to their post.
Private messages. If you think your neighbor may take even a constructive message defensively, it’s probably better to send them a private message instead. When in doubt, use a private message.
Reporting messages or members
If you don’t feel comfortable reaching out to your neighbor, or if you think the post needs to be completely removed instead of edited, please report the post, which will send it to your Neighborhood Leads for review.
If you're a Lead, you can vote to remove content. As a Lead, you also have the ability to close discussions. This option can be useful if a discussion becomes unneighborly, but when there is still valuable information in the conversation that you don’t want to remove completely.
Either way, it’s generally a good idea to create a post explaining why you’re removing or closing a discussion. Keep your comments brief, avoid calling anyone out specifically, refer back to the Community Guidelines, and maintain a positive tone. Here is an example of language you can use as a Lead when closing discussions or removing a post.
Finally, if a neighbor has shown a pattern of abusive or discriminatory behavior, or if their post is putting someone else in danger, please report the member to Nextdoor Support. We will follow up to ensure that the abusive behavior does not continue, which could involve removing the member from Nextdoor if necessary.
Bringing neighbors together
The best way to prevent unconscious bias is for people to get to know each other so that they see other each as individuals rather than stereotypes.
The Turquoise Table movement is the creative approach of Kristin Schell in Houston who wanted to get to know her neighbors. She started a nationwide movement of "front yard people."
Hosting a neighborhood coffee hour is another great way to bring a diverse set of neighbors together. Here's a playbook we compiled with tips on how to host a successful coffee hour:
