Laura Stebbins
They mow the lawn at 7 a.m., and their dog barks all day long. We've all had one of those neighbors. And now thousands of people are turning to the web to trash talk, bash, and get even with their annoying neighbors! The worst part? They could be talking about you! 7's Adam Williams shows us the website where you can "loathe thy neighbor."
Mr. Rogers loved all his neighbors, but he never had these families in his neighborhood!
They're just a few examples of what's brewing on the website rottenneighbor.com where 200,000 people a day are writing, reading and posting video's about their neighbors.
The creator of the site says many people turn to it because they're afraid to confront a neighbor.
Brant Walker, creator of rottenneighbor.com
"One of the worst things that can happen is a confrontation that could erupt into violence. By using our service that's something you could possibly avoid."
The Cremens of Woburn were singled out on the site. Someone posted that their dog does it's business on everyone's property and another neighbor griped it bites. Tom Cremens defended his pooch and says the anonymous authors are just bitter and bored.
Tom Cremens, accused on rottenneighbor.com
"My dog would never bite. If they want to do things like that, let them. I've got better things to do with my life."
Neighbors of the Cremens say the dog isn't a disturbance.
Bob Foley, neighbor
"It will get out every once in awhile but it's not a problem."
In Braintree, a revved-up remote control car is causing more than one neighbor to complain.
Postings say the neighbor's toy car is 'driving everyone crazy' and 'everyone wants to run it over.'
We showed the homeowner in question the postings. He said it's just not true. But some of their other neighbors say: Not so fast!
Phil Peresada, neighbor
"He runs it probably around three to six o'clock. It's just a nuisance."
All the posts on rottennneighbor.com are anonymous. So it's anyone's guess who in the neighborhood is doing the online complaining and whether it's true or not. Users can just type in a zip code, and click on the map to find the house they want to complain about. If you're curious about what your neighbors are saying about you just type in your address. If your house has a red marker on it then you've been labeled a rotten neighbor.
The Dellanno's of Wilmington are accused on the site. Someone wrote, 'their many boys can be found screaming curse words at the neighborhood children, breaking car windows and denting vehicles.' We paid them a visit.
Corinne Dellanno, accused on rottenneighbor.com
"They've never damaged anybody's property. I'm very hurt; I think we're a great family."
We checked with some neighbors ourselves, who say the family is nothing but nice.
Tim Penney, neighbor
"We've been here seven, eight years and we've probably seen it all and none of that has taken place."
The site isn't only about bashing. The green markers on the neighborhood maps are posts from people who've written good things about their neighbors...But like the site name say's rotten neighbor.com is designed to be a guilt free venue to vent where the old saying 'love they neighbor' has changed to 'loathe thy neighbor' instead.
(Copyright (c) 2008 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
