Rotten Neighbors? Call Them Out on RottenNeighbor.com

Oct. 2, 2007 — -- As the village president of Pingree Grove, Ill., a small town about an hour northwest of Chicago, Clint Carey has come to expect anonymous Internet criticism of the way he does his job.

He wasn't prepared to be labeled a lousy neighbor.

"Oh my God. I'm on RottenNeighbor.com?" Carey said after hearing that his address was marked as that of someone who "got himself elected mayor and sold out to the developer's interests within minutes."

Carey's not the only one. Since the site launched in late July, hundreds have mapped their own neighborhoods like minesweepers at RottenNeighbor to pinpoint problem properties: yipping Chihuahuas, wannabe DJs and, at the extreme end, drug dealers and abusive parents. The site is a high-tech tool for those who want to scout out a neighborhood before moving in, providing a voyeuristic look at the people who live next door.

San Diego programmer Brant Walker, 27, said he got the idea for RottenNeighbor.com from his own experience with bad neighbors.

"They weren't the worst neighbors," he said, "but they did a lot of bad cooking."

So Walker, a Google maps fanatic, got to work on finding a way to introduce house hunters to the neighbors in a way real estate agents never would:

From Detroit: "Tried to talk to him once until he told me he lit the fire so we won't have to worry about the aliens anymore."

Pittsburgh: "This man lives to beat his wife and kids."

Phoenix: "The dog lets out single loud woof every two seconds ... it will go for hours and hours straight."

Also from Phoenix: "In a double-dose of awesome … pickup truck with an alarm set to its highest level of sensitivity ... directly under the flight path of the airport."

Seattle: "Will play accoridion (sic) starting at 6AM. ... Will not shut window if asked and won't stop playing. He does respond to being sprayed with a hose."

Not every marker is a putdown. One user compliments a household of Madison, Ohio, residents on their new siding and friendly demeanors. Good or bad, it's all potentially valuable information for anyone considering a move.