College juice gets anonymous

A new Web site is quickly becoming the new online home for anonymous gossip after the collapse of Juicy Campus due to the recent economic downturn.

The College Anonymous Confession Board gives students freedom to voice their opinions on topics ranging from sex and keg parties to campus life and politics, and now Temple students can gossip on the site.

The Web site, created by recent college grads Andrew Mann of John Hopkins University and Aaron Larner of Wesleyan University, serves as a platform for discussions that may be considered taboo by many.

The site is now run by Wesleyan freshman Peter Frank, who was given control of ACB when the two creators couldn’t find time to continue to run it.

In an e-mail, Frank said ACB differs from previous sites such as Juicy Campus because it provides a forum for real discussions rather than malicious topics.

“We have found that our students use our site to discuss topics that might be difficult to talk about in person,” he said, “as well as ask questions about classes or school events.”

In a press release, ACB said its philosophy is different from that of Juicy Campus, because the previous was a site that “fostered superficial interactions” which were “often derogatory and needlessly crude.”

Frank said there is always room for the occasional gossip post, but that his site will consistently host a higher level of operation.

Junior communications major Katherine McCombs said gossip sites ruin people’s reputations and she doesn’t use them.

“If you go on there you know you’re looking for trouble or for yourself,” McCombs said.

ACB users don’t have to login to make a post, but once a user is logged in, they can take advantage of additional features such as private messaging, identity swapping and marking private threads to view later.

Frank said he hopes users will get a more personal experience from the individual college boards.

Users to ACB can help the site maintain their images by getting involved in the moderation process. Users are given a few loose rules regarding libel and are able to report posts they don’t like.

f a student finds a statement they consider libelous, they may report it to the administrator who will remove the post if it violates the site’s terms of agreement. By doing this, the site has been able to avoid the vast number of libelous seen on other gossip sites.

But users beware – the site is not legally responsible for any libel posted on ACB because of Section 240 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996.

Juicy Campus was highly criticized for not censoring its content posted by users. The site was founded in August 2007, and, by October 2008, was spreading gossip to more than 500 colleges and universities. CEO Matt Investor said in a press release that the site ran dry after plummeting revenue from online advertisers and the “economic downturn.” The site was permanently shut-down Feb. 5.

Frank said in the wake of the recent Juicy Campus shut-down, he doesn’t fear that his site will do the same and that his site is getting about 500,000 impressions daily.

“Users should look for new features in the coming month,” Frank said. “We don’t want to release too many details, but we believe they will be exciting.”

Matthew D. Wargo can be reached at mdwargo@temple.edu.

Gossip on campus gets juicy

Unlike Facebook and MySpace, Juicy Campus takes sharing personal information to a whole new level and sees privacy as an afterthought.

Last month, Temple was added to JuicyCampus.com, a gossip site that has pages for nearly 500 campuses nationwide.

Juicy Campus serves as an open forum for users to anonymously post uncensored gossip about their campuses, and anything or anyone is fair game. Posters do not need to register or log in to start a thread on the Web site.

Common discussion topics include fraternity parties, the sizes and shapes of sorority sisters and sexually transmitted diseases. Posts can then be tagged with key words or phrases like Greek, cheap food or drugs.

Sean Brondi, a junior risk management and insurance major, said he was disappointed by what he saw on Juicy Campus.

“It seems like a place for people to pathetically try and embarrass their ex-boyfriend or girlfriend,” Brondi said.

Since its creation, Temple’s page on Juicy Campus has received more than 250 different posts across a message board, with several posts gathering thousands of views each. The popular topic is about sororities and fraternities. Posts for this topic have 1,500 views.

Not everyone is stricken with Juicy Campus fever on campus.

Senior speech pathology major Amy Lee has no interest in the site.

“I refuse to look at Juicy Campus. I have enough drama in my life,” Lee said. “I don’t need to read about other people’s.”

Posts with useful information or with a sense of humor can be found few and far-between. A post titled “Speaking of Juicy Gossip” asks about the soon-to-be grocery store opening in Progress Plaza. Another post sheds light on students who are annoyed when they discover someone sitting in their seats in class, even though they always sit in that same seat.

Juicy Campus’ mastermind Matt Ivester is a 2005 graduate of Duke University and former president of his fraternity. He founded the site in August 2007.

The site is widely received among college students and the news media. CNN held an interview with a college freshman who was criticized on Juicy Campus in April. The interviewee said the rumors ruined her freshman year and affected her physical appearance because she lost weight and could not sleep.

Some posts on Juicy Campus make controversial accusations about date rape drugs, promiscuity and racism. Examples of posts’ titles are “Easiest Freshman,” “Fat People Working at Starbucks” and “Handicapped.” When authors choose to remain anonymous, it’s difficult to find who is to blame, but it’s not impossible.

Publicly lying and humiliating someone is not tolerated by Juicy Campus. Those harassed by allegations on the site can lawfully subpoena the site’s owners. They must prove that the posts are untrue and show how their reputations were damaged by libelous material.

The site features a text box that allows users to enter gossip without having to log in or verify an e-mail address.

A disclaimer is listed on the privacy and tracking page of the site. It informs users that Juicy Campus reserves the right to disclose personal identifiable information if necessary to protect its rights or comply with court proceedings.

Brondi encourages those who post to the site to be aware of the damage libel can cause.
“If you don’t have anything nice to say,” Brondi said, “don’t say anything at all.”

Michelle Provencher can be reached at michelle.provencher@temple.edu.