Talk:Telephone Surfing/Mock up

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Hi guys! It's pretty impressive all those new features that you're planning/working on! But I have some serious doubts about that planned Phone Network on CS. Especially about its planned feature of "connecting desperate Couchsurfers with on-call locals". The more popular CS becomes and the more new members it attracts, the more it will also be open to abuse by freeloaders/abusers (of people's kindness)/drifters (as opposed to travellers). And whilst such people might be quite harmless as such and might not pose any danger to the individual, they can prove a danger to CS as a whole, as in their wake they can leave disillusion, mistrust and growing cynicism. I would be a bit suspicious about a couchsurfer who is so "desperate" that s/he'd need to use those emergency phone numbers for "emergency accommodation". Why has s/he not prepared him or herself for such emergencies (i.e. has enough money for a hostel in case some CS arrangement falls through)? If s/he was robbed, surely s/he should contact the local police and his or her embassy. From time to time there might occur some genuine emergency and I'm sure many CS members would love to help out, myself included (and as I have done in the past). However, more often than not it might well be the case that that "desperate" CSer couldn't be bothered to put that bit of effort into planning his travels and/or contacting potential hosts in advance. Or in other words: it will be somebody who can't be bothered and purely relies on the kindness and generosity of others (whilst not considering other people's needs) - somebody to whom this is a way of life. I certainly have met some people like that, including on CS (accidentally - my mistake! I should have paid more attention to "between the lines" on their profile). These days most places in the world have Internet Cafes and/or if you travel somewhere extremely remote, well then you'll have to contact potential hosts more in advance and from somewhere where there's an Internet Cafe. So I can't see any reasons why contacting potential hosts by email shouldn't be enough. As a matter of fact by email is the very best way, as this gives potential hosts the chance and time to make up their mind, if that couchsurfer seems trustworthy - by way of looking at their profile and the impression they get from that email. Just a phone call is quite another thing. The point is that somebody who couldn't be bothered to put that tiny bit of effort into it in the first place - by writing a few emails beforehand, quite probably won't be a very nice (and considerate!) person to have as a guest in your home.

I've been telling everybody how safe CS is and I fear some proposed new features like that of an ”emergency number" might well endanger that safety and therefore the CS project as a whole - in the long run. But maybe my concerns are unfounded? Any thoughts?

Inés (username: Ines S.)

Ines-- Thanks for pointing this out. My first concern is letting existing, committed CSers use the telephone when it's inconvenient to log on. Then I *do* intend to use the phone system to include more people, but I will have to design systems that prevent people from abusing the system and upsetting hosts. JoeEdelman