She left at did @CatskillsGrrl because of some inappropriate behaviour behind the scene.
Not ALL MODS think the same, and my advice to anyone that has any issue with a moderators behaviour towards them would be to report it to @tom2
5 Likes
I didn’t know Kona the Hawaiian host lady left. Feels bad…
I too stayed away from this forum for a long time after this bitch started drama with me accusing me of lying. I tracked down that bitch in Montreal for fun.
Don’t share too much personal info here folks.
2 Likes
I am not sure if this is meant as a joke, but absolutely YES. I don’t know if you are aware of the numbers of people who have been imprisoned for minor, victimless, non-violent crimes. Maybe I’m not knowledgeable about the definition of “convicted felon” in the US, but as someone who has worked with ex-prisoners and seen them turn their lives around, despite the difficulties of having a criminal record, to become useful, productive members of society I am disturbed by the assumption of “once a criminal always a criminal.”
I do recognise, of course, that there need to be safeguards, which will probably relate to the number of years the conviction has been “spent” and the seriousness of the crime.
Oh dear, I didn’t want to hijack the thread, but this is something I feel very strongly about!
8 Likes
1 Like
Yes and no.
Yes, my BS degree is in Criminal Justice and I taught government for over 20 years.
Airbnb trys to “protect” us by doing random background checks. We’ve had some threads about it here. There are the hosts who do their own little checks on facebook or LinkedIn when they get a booking. I wonder how many guests try to do a check on their hosts? And I wonder how many hosts think people “with a record” shouldn’t host because apparently Airbnb thinks they shouldn’t. And of course I don’t think Airbnb give two toots about it they just do what they think looks good.
So would there be any disqualifying crimes in your mind? Or only recent ones. In the US convicted felon is just defined as someone convicted of a crime serious enough to be classified as a felony. Most crimes are state offenses in the US, not federal offenses. A DUI is a felony, an assault is a misdemeanor unless it’s against a police officer. (Any touching of a police officer is automatically aggravated assault. ) How about someone who has been convicted in a domestic violence situation? Or cruelty to animals? Possession of narcotics which could just be a little weed? Would you feel nervous about them only if they lived on site but it doesn’t matter if the space is completely separated?
What if someone reserved your place and then just before they were due to arrive they did a background check and found an arrest record. They call Airbnb and ask for a full refund because they don’t “feel comfortable?”
@Malagachica I’m sending you a PM.
Guess I’m screwed. …
1 Like
I’ve been off the forum for a bit (vacation, 28-day guest, and pneumonia), but I’m broken-hearted to learn @konacoconutz and @CatskillsGrrl are no longer acting mods. I hope they haven’t left altogether as their experience and advice is so invaluable. Hugs to all! Be kind to one another–it’s tough enough out here! 
7 Likes
Hello All, I haven’t been paying much attention to the forum once I stepped down as mod, but my name came up in this thread and I wanted to state for the record that this is a publiclly available - and not private - forum. One need not register to read the posts here at all. Many, many hits come from unregistered users. While this forum may have a confessional quality because many users do not use their names, if you share the link to your listing and it CLEARLY violates Airbnb’s TOS about discrimination do NOT be surprised if it is reported. I have no qualms stating publicly that I reported a listing shared here that stated - in the listing - NO OBESE PEOPLE. Now, if you reveal yourself to be a small minded bigot on the forum in your words and opinions, whatever, I couldn’t be bothered tracking you down. But if you share your listing and your listing includes crap like no gays, no obese people, no Muslims or no anything … um I will flag your listing with Airbnb. It is a public listing. Anyone - mod, user or just regular web surfer can report it because this forum can be read by anyone without an account. Instead of “watch what you say here,” I advise, ‘don’t include discriminatory language in your listing.’
16 Likes
I welcome your voice of sanity. I have been feeling quite dismayed and uncomfortable with all this and its earlier, related thread. It’s been difficult to respond to coherently because of the split, and the gut wrenching, unpleasant implications on who may be flagging users, the highlighting of proof and implied secrecy. I for one, initially felt vaguely threatened that anyone who dislikes what I may write, can then take retaliatory action by flagging my listing. Then I think I felt that this is what I was supposed to feel.
Yes, such as being in possession of plants. While mass murderers run the country. I mean, really. The so-called justice system is out of control in many parts of the world, including the USA.
Nobody could dislike criminals more than me. I dislike even watching gangster films. But when the definition of criminal is turned on its head, I think a little scepticism is in order.
Thanks to @Malagachica for pointing out the obvious.
1 Like
This forum can be viewed by anyone. Airbnb is a trademarked brand. The powers that be probably monitor this site at the very least for possible trademark infractions.
But they can’t enforce rules specific to Airbnb on an independent website (with the possible exception of a crime.)
.
The scope of our agreement does not include censure. Yet.
I have only been reaching this forum about once a week lately, and missed a lot. I’m disappointed that Kona and Catskillsgrrl have stepped down or left completely. The forum won’t be the same without them.
2 Likes
This forum has no relationship with Airbnb whatsoever and I can assure you the Mods have no connection to powers are Airbnb, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Airbnb is aware and visits occasionally.
Because this forum uses the term ‘Airbnb’ and frequently referrs to it, this forum is, in effect, using a registered trademark. Airbnb has every right to monitor this, though taking action is another issue.
They also would likely monitor this forum for awareness and feedback. They want to know what is being said about their brand. I doubt they would target a specific host though.
1 Like
Can I just say that I really hate that this forum is public? It would nice if only registered members could read threads instead of any random AirBnB guest who stumbles across this website and decides to read what hosts are saying about them…
2 Likes
It’s not our call. The owners @tom2 and @Cyn have provided this place so that everyone can join in or read 
After all, we have no secrets. Or do we???
2 Likes
I’d be more comfortable posting the link to my listing if these forums were private. I’m paranoid about being cyberstalked by the guests I complain about. Ever since my roommate in college found my LiveJournal complaining about her! 
3 Likes
I’m probably a bit weird but I’m not paranoid about anything. Stalk me on the internet, that’s okay
@Xena - another point to consider is that Airbnb may take your conversion rate into account when they (or rather, their computers) are juggling around with figures to determine where your listing features in searches.
It may be that if your listing has a low conversion rate (1000 views but just one booking as opposed to 10 views and one booking, for example) you might in some way be ‘downgraded’. The assumption may be that the more bookings you get per view, the better. So posting your listing might not be a good idea for that reason too.
1 Like