Hic sunt dracones — here be dragons — is an old cartographer’s phrase to indicate unknown or dangerous territory.

It’s also the premise behind RottenNeighbor.com, a web site that enables registered users to map the locations of bad neighbors and air neighborhood gripes, putting prospective buyers and renters on notice:

Whether you’re moving down the street or across the country, we want you to be aware of bad neighbors before you relocate. Buying a home is one of the biggest investments you will make, and we are here to provide more peace of mind. Real estate agents can also use RottenNeighbor as a tool to market their services and feel more secure about the homes they show to their clients.

While in theory at least this seems like a good idea, practice proves different. So far this site promises little more than an opportunity for the spiteful to post allegations of sexual misconduct or criminal activity or simply malicious comments about people they don’t much like. Like some real-world neighborhoods, parts of this site are unpleasant to venture into.  Be warned — there indeed be dragons.

(Via Boing Boing.)

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 2nd, 2008 at 4:43 pm and is filed under Popular Culture, Politics, Society. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.