Allergy Advice

The statements and opinions on this page are solely those of its authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of CouchSurfing International.

This is a proposal for a future enhancement to CouchSurfing and needs to be commented and contributed to to reflect a broader consensus!

Allergy Advice would enable people with allergies to search specifically for couches that are going to allow them to sleep soundly without sneezing their lungs out etc.

1 Why?
2 How?
- 2.1 List of allergies
3 Discussion
- 3.1 Implementation

Why?

Some people are allergic to smoke and I don't get much relaxing sleep when staying in a place where people smoke.

I have cats - some people are allergic to cats, and at this time of the year a tent in the garden ain't that comfortable in Cardiff ¦¬]

How?

The idea is that the user profiles contain a sub-section which allows the user to add one or more substances/things that they are allergic to or would like to avoid (Maybe this should be expanded into "Allergies/Phobias"?). The same section would ask potential couch-owners whether any of those substances/things are to be encountered around their couch.

List of allergies

Smoke
Animals, cats, dogs
Food (not super relevant here)
Hay fever (not much to do against it)

Discussion

Technical and content issues are neatly intertwined in this one. What is possible in the technical realm may dictate the approach, but a discussion on the details may inform the technology. For example: Should there be/Can there be a finite list of substances? Who defines it? Is that practical? Sod's law that something crops up a few weeks after everyone has ticked their boxes... If substances can be added, will this result in all users being asked to update their profile every now and then? Maybe that happens anyway? And if not, is not necessarily a bad idea? As these entries are voluntary a search should not be limited to those factors, but maybe a parallel ranking could be hacked that would move closer matches further up the list? Please comment on these or any other issues you can think of!

There is no such think like a final list of substances/allergys - People can become allergic to nearly everything. Also the grade of reaction to substances can differ from just an annoyance to serious health damage. A special textbox for "handicaps" (not necessarily allergys) would do a better job. I put a hint on How to be a good guest to mention special needs in couch requests. Midsch ^CS 16:27, 21 October 2006 (CEST)

Implementation

If it is agreed that such a function is desirable and possible, someone would have to do the dirty work. If that someone ever rolls through Cardiff, I promise to bake a huge cake! - Oile couchsurfing:volunteering.htm

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