A Correction—and an Apology to Sarah Leary

I've spent more than 70 days publicly questioning Nextdoor, its leadership, and what I see as failures in communication and accountability.

So accountability has to work both ways.

Sarah Leary, I owe you an apology.

On August 14, 2026, I publicly questioned what happened to an X post on Sarah's account after I could no longer find it.

I noticed it was missing the day before.

It was the Beacon Street snow post where I had left numerous comments documenting my ongoing experience with Nextdoor—the company Sarah co-founded with Nirav Tolia.

At the time, I couldn't find the post.

I questioned whether Sarah had deleted it and whether my numerous Nextdoor comments had anything to do with its disappearance.

Well...

As of August 24, 2026, the post is there.

I can see it.

And yes, I've commented on it again on Nextdoor.

So what happened?

I don't know.

Maybe it was an X glitch.

Maybe its visibility temporarily changed.

Maybe it disappeared and returned.

Or maybe I didn't see it when I searched for it.

And that's the important part:

I don't know.

I’ve raised concerns about Nextdoor's communication, transparency, and accountability.

I can't demand those standards from a company and then exempt myself when I may have made a mistake.

My observation at the time was straightforward:

I couldn't find the post.

But suggesting Sarah personally removed it went beyond what I could actually establish.

There's a difference between:

“The post appears to be gone.”

and

“Sarah deleted the post.”

I should have maintained that distinction.

So, Sarah:

I apologize for stating or implying that you deleted the post when I didn't have evidence to support that.

That's on me.

This correction doesn't change my broader questions about Nextdoor. I'm still waiting for the detailed research I've requested. I still have questions about communication, moderation, verification, monetization, and leadership.

And I'll continue documenting those issues.

But this particular issue deserves a correction without a bunch of qualifications attached to the apology:

The Beacon Street post is there.

I don't know why I couldn't see it before.

I shouldn't have attributed its disappearance to Sarah without knowing what happened.

Accountability doesn't mean much if it only travels in the convenient direction.

If I expect Nextdoor and its executives to acknowledge mistakes, I have to be willing to do the same.

So, Sarah, sincerely:

My apologies.

And yes...I've already returned to the Beacon Street post to continue commenting about that company you and Nirav co-founded.

I said I was apologizing.

I didn't say I was retiring. 😏

Follow the continuing Nextdoor story at NielFlamm.com/blog.