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Comment by prostoalex | Hacker News Reader

Where do we draw the line on decency?

* Guest trashes the place, takes off with host's camera, iPod, laptop, jewelry - should AirBnb chip in for the cost?

* Guest scratches a hardwood floor that's pretty expensive to fix - should AirBnb chip in for the cost? Or just buy a rug to cover it? What if it's some Mongolian oak that's custom-ordered at $5000 per sq.ft.?

* Guest overflows the toilet, causing some floor damage and a call to plumber - should AirBnb pay for just the floor? Or cover plumber's visit?

* TV is not working on guest's departure, guest claims to never have touched it, owner says it worked perfectly before the guest arrived - should AirBnb just buy a new TV?

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I'm willing to go on record as saying the line is drawn at a sociopath willfully destroying someone's home and stealing their identity.

It's pretty simple. If the user can't pre-screen and validate the guest's identity before renting, the onus is on Airbnb to ensure that they will not destroy your home.

Besides, that's the only way this company can work at scale. Without trust in the system, who will use it?

There are databases for convicted felons and molesters, but other than that, how exactly do you ensure someone is not a "sociopath willfully destroying someone's home and stealing their identity"?

Even if AirBnb had a way to check this guy out, it's quite possible he doesn't habitually destroy homes and steal people's identities.

> There are databases for convicted felons and molesters, but other than that, how exactly do you ensure someone is not a "sociopath willfully destroying someone's home and stealing their identity"?

Dunno. That's going to be Airbnb's problem to solve if they want to enjoy ongoing business. That's their job if they want to be the "Ebay of spaces."

Actually, it isn't. Airbnb job isn't to guarantee the sanity of its renters to homeowners. They merely provide the interface for that interaction. I've been burned on ebay deals before (none of this magnitude, of course), but I don't place the responsibility solely on ebay for all of those -- in a few cases it was because I was trading with someone who was in another country, or had a low seller rating, etc. In situations like these, where you are putting your faith in a complete stranger, it is up to you to do your research and protect yourself. Sure, I think that there should be more on airbnb about the risks homeowners are taking on (as in, craigslist style), but to say that recognizing their limited responsibility in this incident would be "villainous" seem overly sentimental to me

Your reactions here are completely emotional. This is understandable, since the story is about a potentially emotional topic, but your response to it is not helpful for making a rational business decision.

Try to divorce yourself from the topic and read your reply again, realizing that you've set up an impossible standard and blanket-judged a complicated balance of liabilities as "pretty simple."

No, that is not where you draw the line. That is a random point very much on the far side of where you want the line drawn.

The problem for any organization dealing with a large volume of possible cases is that you need to figure out where to draw the line. Preferably you want it in some place that is transparent and easily communicated to people. Otherwise you'll have an endless stream of cases close to the line with arbitrary outcomes that you can't explain.

Clearly, "So and so drilled through my walls to steal my stuff" should be on the far end of the line. Clearly, "So and so stole my pencil" should be on the near side of the line. But where do you draw it in the middle? With the claim of a broken TV? With a hole in the wall?

It is definitely possible for the host to pre-screen and validate the guest's identity. I've used AirBNB as a guest before and I was screened by hosts. They asked questions about why I was in the area, whether I smoked/drank, etc. I told them my name, allowing them to look me up on FB, Twitter, find my personal blog, etc. You'd better believe I looked up their names as well to make sure I wasn't inadvertently staying with someone who was a felon.

If your argument is based on the assumption that hosts can not screen guests then your argument is wrong.

>Where do we draw the line on decency?

"If damage incurred through malice or gross negligence exceeds a reasonable proportion of the overall value of the establishment" where reasonable proportion might be defined as anything from 0.5% to 5%. The cool thing about legalese is how it can define a whole lot of undefinable things.

I am not a lawyer and never will be.

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