Close Call Database

[Brendan von Buckingham]

One complaint? Sure disgruntled co-worker. Eight complaints? Maybe a legitimate pattern. 38 complaints? Public menace.

[PotomacCyclist]

38 complaints could also be a sign that someone has an online stalker. It’s been known to happen.

I took a look at the registration process. You can create an account with Strava or with an email and password. A stalker would only need to obtain new email addresses to create multiple accounts. I know this would require some work, to maintain multiple email accounts for the purpose of flooding the database with complaints about a target, but there are many real-life cases of people engaging in similar behavior to get back at an ex-spouse or co-worker.

Filing public false complaints about someone would be libel, but that hasn’t stopped some people. There are some determined online stalkers out there.

I’m just trying to think of the worst-case scenario here. It reminds me of email and online forums. When these were first designed, no one really thought spam, trolling, fake accounts and abuse would be such a problem. Then they were released into the wild and the problems popped up pretty quickly. (This forum hasn’t had too many issues with abuse, but there have been spam problems in the past. Those have been addressed. A new site like the database will have to prepare for such misbehavior.)

The database founders will have to sort through the issue in order to make this a success, especially if they want the database to be used to assist with future prosecutions against bad drivers (or even against bad cyclists). If it’s too easy to create multiple accounts for the purpose of generating multiple false complaints that appear to come from separate individuals, then it’s a problem.

Not just in cases where false complaints are filed, but also in the uncertainty that this generates for the database overall. If prosecutors and police are not satisfied that the database is reliable, it may not be helpful in building up a record against particular drivers. They won’t trust the information and it will be of little legal use.

This uncertainty could also be an angle for an actual aggressive driver to sue the database for libel. Say a driver does behave aggressively and illegally, and many people file reports against him or her. The driver may hear about the database and then sue, claiming that the reports are false or unreliable, and that the collection of negative complaints is damaging his/her reputation and endangering his personal and professional relationships. If there is no other evidence supporting the reports (no video or photographs), then a frivolous suit like this might have a chance. At the very least, it could generate legal costs for the database founders, which endangers the project. If the database is run on a shoestring budget and on a volunteer basis, just one of these frivolous lawsuits could threaten to bring it down.

I think I’ll write to those people to tell them about my concerns. I’d like to see the database work, but they need to be prepared for issues like this.

[PotomacCyclist]

Their map of registered users (no personal info is given, just the general location of the users) shows that people in Northern Virginia, DC and suburban Maryland started registering on the database over three weeks ago. There aren’t too many local users but I’d expect that number to increase.

Let’s see how many people register after I started this thread. That might be an indicator of the relative popularity of the forum among area cyclists. It’s an unscientific experiment, but it could still prove to be interesting.

[PotomacCyclist]

http://closecalldatabase.com/

http://closecalldatabase.com/about/

http://closecalldatabase.com/articles/the-rationale-behind-the-close-call-database/

Links from the Close Call Database

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