Not everything should be globalised and ripped apart from any private context. Frankly this is a lesson we collectively need to learn IMO.
I get that nothing can anymore completely accomplish a total sort of privacy or other perfect reduction of scope, but that as a theme does have value IMO.
I think the global reach is the problem here: kind of like how phonebooks, public records intended for the interest of the local population get scraped and sold to ad businesses and credit bureaus.
I'm pretty sure that some of the content posted to Nextdoor could be of public interest, and it would make sense that a local newspaper or TV station may wish to report on it, just as they may report on the minutes of city council meetings or organized events.
I think the issue here is when you combine a local newspaper with the global reach of the Internet, and something that was meant for a small audience is now being shared way outside of its original target audience. I sure hope people don't go posting the minutia of my local neighborhood to BuzzFeed or reddit.
Regardless, this is just for show. This sort of policy isn't going to make any difference. We've seen these sorts of scraping issues in the past with other walled gardens: site owners make a big deal about scraping, shut down their APIs, etc. It hasn't stopped content from being scraped and reported on. Reporters will continue to report; users will continue to make anonymous story tips; and new accounts will sign up after old accounts get locked out.
Not everything should be globalised and ripped apart from any private context. Frankly this is a lesson we collectively need to learn IMO.
I get that nothing can anymore completely accomplish a total sort of privacy or other perfect reduction of scope, but that as a theme does have value IMO.