Anyone ever came across Rapleaf?

Aphrodite_Nymphia

Aphrodite_Nymphia

Registered Guest
Hi everyone! I've been away for a while so a big hello to everybody! Anyway I was wondering, has anyone ever came across a site called Rapleaf? Basically what they are is an online reputation search based on e-mail and, according to their site they "encourage you to lookup people’s Rapleaf reputation before transacting, hiring, or even interacting with them".

Well, I got an e-mail from them a couple of days ago saying that someone had searched my reputation on it. Ok, fair enough I thought, I am not on it and this is an invitation to create a profile which I will decline. To my horror, though, I realised that once someone had looked me up a profile had already been created giving me a very low score. What's more the only option the site provides you is to opt in, there is no opt out. There seems to be no means for me to remove the profile.

This annoys me on two counts, first of all I don't appreciate being forced to join something that I had no interest or desire in joining (I can opt to have an unlisted number, why not an unlisted e-mail?) and second of all the e-mal in question I use for job applications and I am worried that this site will reflect badly on me.

Anyway I thought I should let you all know (perhaps even some of you have come across it already), as you all have an e-mail address for your sites, e-Bay, Babylon Mall etc. and there is certainly a danger that people could be given spiteful bad ratings.


Emma.
 
I'd never heard of them but googled now and found this article explaining the niche Rapleaf is trying to fill:

http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/04/23/rapleaf-to-challenge-ebay-feedback/

Their motives--to create an "open" feedback system for the online market--sound noble enough (since cleaning up eBay's act is not something eBay will ever do...), but since their proposed methods of controlling feedback disputes/abuse sound pretty secretive, I don't know that it could avoid the pitfalls of eBay's system and actually work.

And certainly your experience so far suggests otherwise... (I'd be pretty disturbed, too, and not want to deal with them, but on the other hand they are exercising control over your reputation without your involvement or input... I can't help but see legal problems with them doing this?)
 
Hi Carrie, thanks for the link. It explains a lot better what they are trying to do, but I am still pretty disturbed by the experience. I have sold on e-Bay in the past and had I came into contact with Rapleaf through that avenue I wouldn't be just as shocked, but this was my personal e-mail! My boyfriend actually was convinced it was some sort of a scam (very annoying that he wouldn't believe me!). As for legal issues that was my first thought as well. I have just graduated law school, but I have to admit I am no expert in online commerce or data protection. However, the site is certainly ripe for defamation claims (especially as you can add a phone number as well) and as even e-mail lists now require a specific opt in I don't see how, as you said, they can just take it upon themselves to take control over your reputation without your input.

The site really does seem like trouble waiting to happen. I mean, if an 18 year old school girl falls out with a couple of girls in her class and they rate her on Rapleaf is that still going to be coming back to haunt her ten years later? Indeed we had trouble with our neighbours for many years, one of their sons took out a 'vendetta' against my family and a couple of neighbours around us. He smashed our fence, broke the wing mirrors off my mothers car, played cricket on our front lawn while we were in the house (and more to the point in full sight and knowledge of his mother), stoned the house, stoned my (at that time) pre-school cousins when they came to the house, rode bikes around our house, kicked a football up against our neighbour's windows when her husband was trying to sleep after working a nightshift, and hung out with a gang of his mates outside our house, shouting abuse the minute we came out the door. This continued even when we were in town or my sisters passed him in school. Some of the things he shouted at my mother and father were just vile to say the very least. In any case the purpose of this long drawn out story is (they had our phone number as we did speak before this happened) had something like Rapleaf been available then and he put some of the things he shouted at my parents online he could have ruined my father's business. After all once it is out there it is out there and who knows how you would get such comments taken down?

This site seems very worrying indeed.


Emma.
 
Oh yikes I just searched Rapleaf on Google News, this atricle has some pretty scary things to say about it: http://www.news.com/People+search+engine+Rapleaf+revises+privacy+policy/2100-1038_3-6206023.html

Quote: "Right now, Rapleaf has profiles on roughly 50 million people. According to the company's privacy policies, those profiles might include a person's age, birth date, physical address, alma mater, friends, political affiliations, and favorite books and music, as well as how long that person has been online, which social networks he frequents, and what applications he's downloaded."

I certainly wouldn't want all that out there for everyone to see.
 
Wow, that company sounds like a disaster waiting to happen (to us as much as to themselves...) :wacko:

Bad enough they mine sites where folks have unsuspectingly given personal info, but what they do with it (including selling it to marketers!) is blatant breach of privacy! I can't believe they haven't been shut down yet.

All I can say is thanks for alerting us to their existence, and I suggest we all "opt out" fast!

(And I hope that option really works--in the US there's something called the national "do not call" registry which is supposed to keep solicitors from calling you in the middle of dinner to sell you everything from vacations to chimney sweeping services, but the job it does of protecting you from unwanted intrusions is hardly perfect...)
 
Arrgh! I have come across them again, this time with another e-mail (I have one for job applications, volunteering etc., one for my friends and family and one for e-Bay), the second in the list there, and it has liked to all social networking sites that I am a member of, it has put up my age and occupation (which is not specifically stated on any of them) and has dated my e-mail from they put it up on their site even though I have had it since 2001. Ohh this site is really starting to make me livid, my e-mail should not be freely available from those other sites.


Emma.
 
I just got an email today that someone had searched for me on rapleaf. I logged in and there I was with my age etc . I think it is frightening. It makes it easier for identity theft in my opinion.-Lorinda
 
Lorinda, I find it quite frightening too. Yes, I will admit I am on MySpace, Facebook etc, but my real name is not available to those who do not know me (until now), and is it really anyone's business (other than friends and family) what is on my Amazon wishlist? I can tell you I made that one private quickly.


Emma.
 
Emma
The essential difference, as you point out, is that you are on those other sites by choice. The thought that Rapleaf could serve as a forum for disgruntled or undiscerning customers or life's weirdos, without any fair balance or chance for refuting the statements, seems libelous. I think that once this is recognized and someone is inclined to bring a lawsuit declaring defamation of character to action this site will close down. -Lorinda
 
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