Wouldn’t it be handy if there was an online system where neighbors could post messages restricted to only that neighborhood? It could be used to find a handyman, dog sitter, or a good tree trimming service, to introduce new neighbors, etc. it would also be great for posting lost pet notices, property owner association meeting announcements and CrimeWatch information.

In fact, such a system exists! It's called Nextdoor and it's free. Each online community is restricted to a neighborhood using security measures at sign-up to assure that only residents are allowed access. Nextdoor requires that each member have his or her address verified when joining; only neighbors who can verify that they live in the neighborhood can participate in that community’s website.

Other security measures include that each neighbor signs in with his or her real name; no anonymous postings are allowed. Each user chooses what information is shared. A message posted to a Nextdoor community is restricted to only that community, unless the person posting chooses to include other nearby communities.

The website itself is securely encrypted using the HTTPS Internet protocol and posted information will not appear in Google or other search engine results. Nextdoor also guarantees that it will never share your personal information with third-party advertisers.

Nextdoor was founded in 2010 in San Francisco, and spread to 3,500 neighborhoods in its first two years. Last week, the company announced it had surpassed 40,000 neighborhoods, or roughly one in four communities in the U.S.

Locally, Nextdoor was rolled out early this year by the Harbor Point Property Owners Association in Gun Barrel City, and has since spread to neighboring POAs Loon Bay and Mantle Manors.

The more lake neighborhoods that join, the more valuable the resource will be. For more information, go to Nextdoor.com and sign up your neighborhood. Here's the link.