Opt-in community segment heatmap

[itsDNNS]

Problem or Use Case

The biggest challenge in ISP disputes is proving that a problem is in the segment, not at the user's house. Individual signal data is compelling, but "12 users in my segment report the same upstream issue" is a fundamentally stronger argument for both Vodafone support escalations and BNetzA complaints.

Currently, DOCSight users collect evidence in isolation. There is no way to see whether a problem is widespread or individual.

Proposed Solution

An opt-in, anonymized data sharing feature that lets users see whether their DOCSIS problems are isolated or shared across their neighborhood or segment.

What it could look like:

• Users opt in to share anonymized signal metadata (no IP addresses, no personal data)
• DOCSight aggregates data by approximate location (PLZ-level or coarser)
• Dashboard shows: "3 other users in your area are reporting similar upstream issues"
• Public map: known problem zones in Germany and beyond
• Export: "Segment-wide upstream issue confirmed by X DOCSight users" for BNetzA complaints

Why it would be powerful:

• Unique feature: no other DOCSIS monitoring tool has this
• Correlates with BNetzA complaint density by region
• Gives isolated users immediate context for their problem

This is a long-term, exploratory idea. Not planned for any upcoming release. Filed here to capture the concept for when DOCSight has sufficient user base.

Alternatives Considered

• Manual coordination on forums: happens today but is anecdotal, not data-driven
• Third-party crowd-sourced tools (e.g. Allestörungen.de): too coarse-grained, not DOCSIS-specific

Priority

Nice to have

Contribution

• I can help with testing
• I can contribute code (PR)
• I can help with documentation

Additional Context

Hard problems to solve before this is feasible: GDPR compliance (no location data more precise than PLZ), central backend infrastructure (not just self-hosted Docker), trust model, and critical mass of users. Worth keeping in mind as DOCSight grows.

[lennard0711]

• Privacy: GDPR compliance, no location data more precise than PLZ

• Infrastructure: Requires a central server (not just Docker self-hosted)

• Trust: Users need to trust that data is truly anonymized

• Critical mass: Only useful once enough users participate

I can help with that. Reach out if you like. Contact details are in my account :)

[itsDNNS]

Thanks for the offer, and thanks for all your contributions so far. Your bug reports and feature requests have been really valuable for shaping v2! :)

Honestly, this one is pretty far out on the horizon. Right now the main challenge is building a user base in the first place. The heatmap only makes sense once there are enough participants to actually see patterns. And getting the word out is where we're struggling more than on the technical side.

But definitely keeping this on the radar, and if DOCSight grows to the point where this becomes realistic, I'll circle back here. Appreciate it!

[burmistrzak]

What a great idea!
I've got at least 180 working hours (over four months) to spend on something productive and this feature specifically seems to clear a lot of requirements... 👀

I'll certainly bring this up in my project proposal. ☺️