Front Porch Forum

Looking for a plumber recommendation? Need help finding your lost dog? Want to spread the word about a great new local restaurant? Curious what your neighbors think about the proposed school budget? Want to organize a multi-neighbor yard sale?

Front Porch Forum is built for you! FPF is a free community-building service covering every town in Vermont and dozens of communities in upstate New York. FPF features a daily digest of postings from non-anonymous neighbors about everyday topics. Our mission is to help neighbors connect and build community.

Neighbors, local businesses, area nonprofits, and public officials join their local Neighborhood Forum using their real name and address, then post on just about any topic that neighbors might discuss in person. Common issues include lost pets, mechanic recommendations, block parties, break-ins, helping neighbors in need, organizing group buying clubs, discussing local politics, buy/sell/give away items, wildlife sightings, and much more.

Postings are published as a cleanly formatted, easy-to-read digest, typically once a day. Every posting includes the full name and street (but not the exact address) of the author.

Most topics are welcome, although neighbor-vs-neighbor attacks and illegal activities are not. People use FPF in lots of ways, the vast majority of which are civil and constructive. Our goal is to help neighbors connect and open doors for real-world relationships, not to tell them what to talk about.

Our professional online community managers moderate all FPF Neighborhood Forums, reviewing each posting before it is published. For the most part, though, it is our members themselves who set the tone and keep the conversation flowing.

Conversations on FPF are by default private to your Neighborhood Forum and its immediately adjoining forums. FPF does not sell any member data to other entities, and we take seriously our responsibility to protect our members’ information. And unlike many online social networks, we do not build detailed profiles of our members' interests or otherwise invade our members' privacy.

Your neighbors are talking... Sign up for your local Front Porch Forum today!