Peeple: an app to rate people! What could possibly go wrong?

mmntech

Lifer
Sep 20, 2007
17,501
12
0
Our dystopian not-so-distant future may soon include concerns about receiving Yelp-like one-star reviews from dissatisfied dates, or just about anyone who has your phone number. Possibly launching as soon as November, the upcoming Peeple app, which will launch on iOS first, is essentially Yelp for human beings.

According to The Washington Post, Peeple's current system does not include an opt-out service. So long as your name is present within the database, your reviews, good or bad, will remain open to public viewing. That said, the creators seem conscious of the risk of abuse, and have devised methods for mitigating the possibility. For example, in order to submit a review, a user will need to be above 21, have an established Facebook, and create the listing under their real name. It appears as though only positive ratings will be posted immediately, while negative comments will sit in queue for 48 hours, allowing their recipient to negotiate absolution.

Additionally, the Peeple website claims that the app will have no tolerance for “profanity, bullying, health references, disability references, confidential information, mentioning other people in a rating you’re not currently writing a rating for, name calling, degrading comments, derogatory comments, sexual references, mention of confidential information, racism, legal references, hateful content, and other parameters.” Whether Peeple can enforce its regulations, however, is an entirely different question. Even social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook have had trouble responding quickly enough to online abuse.

Judge allows lawsuit against "Linda G," blasts Ars Technica coverage.
Peeple, which calls itself a “positivity app," has ostensibly noble ideals. The mission is to “find the good in you.” It even allows you to search for people within a certain rating, enabling you to surround yourself with the “best of the best.” Unfortunately, human beings are naturally contentious, emotional creatures. It’s hard to imagine Peeple only being used for the forces of good. While the idea of a two-star rating from an ex-colleague might seem trivial, it could have horrifying, long-reaching repercussions. Employers already use social media to investigate prospective employees, with some purportedly demanding access to personal accounts. Peeple will just make it easier.

At the same time, Peeple could also be seen as a more transparent take on existing social media. Likes, follower counts, and even MySpace’s Top 8 feature are all ways we calculate the value of an individual—so why shouldn't there be a service that allows us to blatantly participate in a global popularity contest?

http://arstechnica.com/business/201...-like-one-star-reviews-for-bad-friends-dates/
 

KB

Diamond Member
Nov 8, 1999
5,406
389
126
Like every review app it will be gamed, extorted and cheated. Want good reviews, buy them for $10!! Don't want to receive bad reviews, pay us $20. Somebody else just wants a piece of the extortion pie.
 

Hugo Drax

Diamond Member
Nov 20, 2011
5,647
47
91
I think this app has arrived at the right time. millenials will flock to it. This is the future.
 

BxgJ

Golden Member
Jul 27, 2015
1,054
123
106
No opt out..... yeah, that sounds like a good idea. :hmm:
 
Dec 10, 2005
26,616
10,350
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And now the creator is pissed people are reviewing her; http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/10/01/slander_app_founder_slandered/?mt=1443751745342

What a jackass - probably has an MBA in Horticultural Studies Of The Arctic.
An app to rate people sounds almost like what online dating services need, to make it like a complete Amazon.com experience.

"John Doe, 2/5, Product not as described"
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However, in reality, this app sounds like a horrible idea. Why would anyone think this would be some grand idea? It's just another way to get the mindless internet hate machine running once someone's bad review goes viral.
 
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Homerboy

Lifer
Mar 1, 2000
30,890
5,001
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/App_Development_and_Condiments

Dean Pelton (Jim Rash) interrupts the conversation and introduces two app designers to the study group. Dean Pelton reveals that he is allowing the app designers to beta test their new social networking application, MeowMeowBeenz, using the Greendale staff and students. MeowMeowBeenz allows the user to rate a person between 1 to 5 MeowMeowBeenz.
The app soon becomes extremely popular at Greendale, but Jeff and Britta (Gillian Jacobs) continue to reject it. Britta attempts to convince people of the app's stupidity, but is unable to get people to listen to her unless she has mustard on her face, which Annie (Alison Brie) says distracts from Britta's intensity. Jeff eventually caves in and joins the app, after discovering that Shirley has 5 MeowMeowBeenz, which makes her extremely popular amongst everyone on campus and also gives her the ability to influence what people rate others. The campus soon deteriorates into a dystopia, with the Fives and Fours controlling the school, the Threes and Twos serving them, and the Ones being exiled from the school. The group of Fives, made up of Shirley, Abed (Danny Pudi), Chang (Ken Jeong), Hickey (Jonathan Banks) and a party animal named Koogler (Mitch Hurwitz), realize that the Threes and Twos are becoming suspicious of them, and decide to host a talent show in order to give them hope. Meanwhile, Jeff, who is now a Four, conspires with Britta to enter the talent show and takedown the Fives by exposing their oppressive regime.



05WH0rEA.png
 

Red Storm

Lifer
Oct 2, 2005
14,233
234
106
This is exactly like that episode of Community Homerboy linked to above.

Great episode, hilarious stuff. Not so hilarious in real life. It's downright pathetic.
 

Greenman

Lifer
Oct 15, 1999
21,466
5,945
136
With any luck at all the fools that created this will get sued to death. With just a bit more luck they'll have to sell their skin to pay it off.
 

Fenixgoon

Lifer
Jun 30, 2003
32,647
11,795
136
the road to hell....
also it comes to no surprise that "the internet" would do something like this. in some ways, it's incredible that typical review sites aren't completely full of bogus reviews meant to trash business' reputations.
 

OverVolt

Lifer
Aug 31, 2002
14,278
89
91
the road to hell....
also it comes to no surprise that "the internet" would do something like this. in some ways, it's incredible that typical review sites aren't completely full of bogus reviews meant to trash business' reputations.

Netflixrocks69 review:

Hulu is the worst steaming service ever created