a crank’s progress

So what would this take?

Someday someone is going to start a reunion site that will stay free. [From classmates.com spam scam | a crank’s progress ]

Free? Who would do it, then? What you want is one that is upfront about the cost and never tries to rope you into a membership under false pretenses.

After all, what do they provide? And what’s it worth?

• A site where you can register and associate yourself with a school: easily done.
• A searchable list of names and schools
• Some kind of contact system (this guestbook business that seems to be a scam)

So how hard would it be to create a database-driven website with as many publicly listed schools as possible (there are lists, after all), allow people to register and associate themselves with a school and class/year, and advertise themselves as available to be contacted?
Here’s what I would propose. Instead of a guest book that can be abused by whoever hosts the site, set up double-blind email addresses, such that classmate A sends a message to classmate B, all without divulging their real address. Only members see these addresses: they’re not published for harvesting by spammers.
Once they establish that they do know each other, they can establish some kind of link (like the networks on the LinkedIn site) so that people can see who their extended network knows. Or they can remain unlinked, publicly, and manage their network themselves. The idea would be that the members own their information, not the site, and they can choose to reveal or hide as much as they like.
What would you pay? I’m thinking a one-time fee: pay once, and you’re a member forever, like a co-op. Say, $20, and it doesn’t matter how many associations you make, how many classes/schools you are associated with, or how many connections you make.
Now, if only I was smart enough to build it.