One of the quidelines is that you MUST use your real first and last name, but if you read the posts, it is obvious that people are not doing so. Since when is "Sportschick" or "NewtanionKidsOnTheBlock" a real name. These accounts should not be allowed. I have received vulgar comments on my posts, and had my life threatened. I have flagged the comments, but they were not taken down. This website should be shut down.
Update: Someone on this site posted a personal threat against me, so I decided to close my account. Surprise! There is no obvious way to delete a Patch profile! That is not an option, anywhere on the site. It does not even appear in the FAQs. You can take yourself off the email list, but I see no way to delete the profile page. I have sent a message to Patch Support, to ask for instructions, but have not heard back yet. It's a huge red flag when a website doesn't let you exit. Fortunately, I don't have much information on the page.
I have been the target of some really hateful troll posts lately, on Patch, and have both flagged the posts and contacted Patch support about this problem. I have copied the URLs to Patch, so they can see for themselves. The flagged posts always stay up. These are posts that clearly violate the terms of use for the site. The only reply I've gotten from Patch support was a boilerplate email telling me how to flag offensive posts. Really?
Original review: This company has not decided what it wants to be. Does it want to rival NextDoor.com? Or does it want to be a regional news compiler (a "hyper-local" news source, in their words) that replaces the hometown newspaper? It tries to be both things, and fails miserably. Patch runs short versions of news stories lifted from other publications and wire services, ostensibly "written by robot." They encourage "neighbors" to post comments, and they allow members to submit posts addressed to their neighborhoods. They do nothing to verify that any member is who they claim to be, or that they live in the region. Therefore, it is fertile ground for the worst kinds of trolls. Each "neighborhood" has a moderator. But all that moderator does is send out snippy emails to anyone who is flagged by any peevish "neighbor" commenter, for any reason. It's like being in sixth grade all over again. So petty. There are even cliques and gangs. But the real reason I am taking the time to post a review here is that I believe there is a political leaning to Patch comment moderation, and I believe that it is pro-Trump. The company is owned by an investment group (Hale Group). Run by an ex-Wall Street guy. The Patch.com CEO is an ex-NYT reporter and author. So who knows whether there really is a political agenda behind Patch. Maybe it's just the loony leanings of my neighborhood's moderator. All I can say is what I have observed in my local Patch comment threads. Trump trolls have free rein to post the most outrageous things there, and if you challenge them you get censored and receive a "be polite" email. It's all rubbish.
(Update: I have tested my theory about Patch's political leanings, by posting some challenges to the right-wingers commenters, especially the pandemic deniers. My comments have all been killed. Patch is definitely a tool of the far right.)
Patch.com posted an illegal slanderous listing of police charges on me - against their policy to accept such a thing - and their policy states users will be banned for posting illegal contents, but I guess they get to choose who this refers to and allows to accept the police to post illegal contents and they did post this anyway - They refused to take it down from the post unless the charges were dismissed.
The arresting charge was not properly phrased for proper arresting charge and posted to Patch.com in a slanderous way instead to damage/ruin my reputation. Then when I request to have taken down - they tell me by their policy I have to submit to them a court document from the court signed of the dismiss charges or they refuse to take down. What about their policy- now i can only assume for what they allowed police to illegally post illegal slander on me that they allow slander to be posted as a policy or just allow the police to do this and break policy and not ban the policy from further posts.
Totally illegal for anyone to request a copy of your personal documents/especially court documents for any reason. The company address is in New York - so don't tell me New Yorkers are ignorant or stupid to not know the difference between legal postings and Illegal slander. Also totally illegal not to immediately take down due to my request the statements made about me on the Patch.com were affecting me from getting hired and lost me a full-time job offer paying $35.00 an hour.
You want the same news - on patch.com your better off reading the actual true non slanderous stories on AOL. They have tons of them Updated regularly to stay current in time relation of the event.
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I've sent a copy of link of the review of the above review to Patch.com stating here's your review you earned it!
Update a police officer that was a detective for the police told me something very interesting about patch.com the department does not use patch.com and I asked this officer why not - I was told by this officer - what they post up there on people's names and arrests dates locations and charges is illegal. Police stations are not supposed to post this type of police log or violations if they want to call it anywhere on the internet all police logs have to be published in a local paper if published or on a private are of the internet where other people that are not police officers can not access to view. I asked this officer why it was illegal to post he stated that it defames the individual listed (defame: damage the good reputation of (someone); slander or libel) by putting up this personal information and everyone listed on the patch from the police department with the charged offenses can sue the police department and the patch.com for posting this information for the public to view and himself and other officers have called police stations up that do use patch.com to post this information told them this and their response was they didn't care and the majority of the people are unaware of this and don't have the money to sue them. The police officer even stated they contacted patch.com via phone and told them this was illegal what they were doing and they replied the same to this officer and stated the public has the right to know this information even though the officer stated no the public does not have the right to know this information.
If you live in MA go to the law: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleVII/Chapter41/Section98f
It states: For the police - "however, that the following entries shall be kept in a separate log and shall not be a public record nor shall such entry be disclosed to the public, or any individual not specified in section 97DL" - This means they can not publish police logs nor arrest names and charges publicly even on the internet.
If you live in another state do a search your state will probably have the same/similar law about this.
MA happens to have open records not all states have open record laws - which means these records are public at courts and police stations - but you have to go in and request the individual record you can't go in and request an entire police log - you need to know the name, state in writing your reason, and you are told you can not publish this publicly anywhere even on the internet once you are given a copy of such public record and you are told if you do publish this you will be charged with a crime and can/will serve jail time. This is either stated in writing for the form you request in the public record or they will state this to you in person.
I would advise people that are listed on Patch.com to know their rights - in every state - and if they find this law - file a complaint with the Attorney General's office for violating such law of not being able to publish name and arrest charges - and quote the link on the internet where this law is stated in your state - and even quote a section in the complaint area what they are violating. Patch.com the owner name and address can be found on a web domain look up. (This information needed to fill the complaint out) And you can find the company name even who owns Patch.com on a web search.
What I don't understand here in MA how the patch.com has been getting away with this illegal act for so long - you can't tell me know one else ever noticed this from various state departments that know this is illegal to do? And the police departments in MA know this is also illegal to do to publish this information and they do it anyway? And Patch.com gets away with breaking the law and publishes this information publicly on the internet? Doesn't make sense to me. Since when do police get to break the law they are governed by and get away with it knowing they are breaking the law and allow others such as Patch.com to break the law. I hate to say it with all the police corruption I vote for Military Martial Law - 2 kinds - to come in and have the Military Martial Law and have the Military come in and take over all the police stations in the US and run them. There would be no public curfew if this Military Martial Law option were in effect. There would be no corruption and people would be safer in the community. All police would be fired and replaced by the military - Army.
---------------------------------------- by the way under the State of MA it is illegal for the police to post publicly police logs/arrest reports/names they are available to the public for free at walk in request - and they do tell you at the police station or at least are supposed to tell you that you can not post or publish it the arrest name/charge -, here is the MA State law stating this about the police in MA can not post police logs/arrest names etc on logs publicly - https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleVII/Chapter41/Section98f - Know your rights people and stand up for them for all of you all that have been publicly posted by the police on police log reports for arrests names/charges you have a very good law suit against the police here of a win win situation here - even at the very least and you can't afford a lawyer you can still file at small claims for the maximum which I believe is $7,000.00. Just bring a screen shot printout of the post with your name and charges on the police log and a print out of this law. Your rights are being violated.