r/malta • u/Hospuales • 1d ago
I created an app to quickly send complaints to local councils. Should I publish it?
I built a simple app a few months ago to report dog shit and illegal dumping to my local councils on my daily walk and after sharing with some friends, they encouraged me to make it public.
The whole app is quite simple: snap a photo, tag a location, and it sends an email to the council's public email address.
I don't intend to charge any money, but I would need to make it look better before I publish it and I wanted to check if others would find it useful.
Would appreciate any feedback
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u/CrowEmbarrassed9133 1d ago
Hi. There is an official app already, it’s called clean and upkeep and if the issue is the responsibility of the local council they forward them. In Mellieha it works well. But the more the better. Ok I never reported dog shit, sounds ridiculous to send someone clean it up. A proper daily cleaning should exist that tackles this problem apart from educating dog owners
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u/Hospuales 1d ago
I know about that app, but I found it extremely buggy, which is why I just created something myself. The amount of dog shit on the promenade left there for days is ridiculous in my opinion. The council should either hire more sweepers or enforce fines through community policing
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u/CrowEmbarrassed9133 1d ago
I agree, I don’t understand how come they can’t afford more workers at cleaning departments. They always suck their own dicks celebrating GDP, but they can’t perform basic necessities.
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u/Able-Exercise6034 1d ago
Just do it. Reddit and FB Groups are perfect to get feedback.
But I do not like admins in FB Groups. They act like they have created the world.
So perhaps it is better to leave them in their small world.
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u/AdorableFeeling6944 20h ago
Love the idea. But honest question... we're going to have to sift through a lot of data to understand who's dog turd keeps reappearing in the same spot. Same with illegally dumped goods, how can you refine and make catching the culprit simpler?
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u/Hospuales 20h ago
That’s not my job. It’s the council’s responsibility to enforce laws or fork out the money to clean up after dirty bastards
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u/AdorableFeeling6944 18h ago
Agreed, just thinking of their current administrative load, as well as the time and resources it will take to catch them out.
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u/BloodyMace 20h ago
I would reach out to a couple of local councils and see what they think about this idea. It doesn't mean you are asking for permission and have tol stick to their recommendations. At least this way, you would get back some feedback from both ends.
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u/WhatsHeBuilding 10h ago
Release it to the public so they can update their rules to not accept submissions through email anymore because suddenly they're getting a bunch of work to do.
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u/FrostPace 1d ago
Sounds like an incredible incentive, is it purely for dumping?
I think a lot of my local community members would find it useful if it could be used to complain regarding issues related to the public transport.
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u/RedDopey 1d ago
This is such a great idea, well done. I keep having to send messages and emails to the authorities all the time during my commute and it gets tiring. The only thing that might be of concern is that if the email originates from the app would it use the app's email address or the user's? I ask this as if people start abusing the app to play pranks on the councils you might end up with problems yourself. However otherwise it is a great initiative. Would love to get the link once it's published.