Let’s Stop With CollegeACB.com, OK?

January 25, 2010 Posted in Reality

I like gossip. You know, the pretty harmless kind: who hooked up with who at that party last week, who has a crush on who, who was spotted doing the walk of shame… Little tidbits that don’t really matter. And really, who doesn’t like that stuff?

By Zahra

But as much as I enjoy hearing all the dirt about the girl down the hall from me, I draw the line somewhere. And that somewhere is online.

For those of you who don’t know, after JuicyCampus.com was shut down, another website popped up in it’s place. It’s called CollegeACB.com and it has quickly become the nightmare of many. Including myself.

According to Peter Frank, the founder of CollegeACB.com, the purpose of the site is for people to post anonymous threads and comments about “any facet of college life.”

“The College ACB or College Anonymous Confession Board seeks to give students a place to vent, rant, and talk to college peers in an environment free from social constraints and about subjects that might otherwise be taboo.”

His words are well-chosen and seemingly innocent, but as anyone who has visited this website understands, Frank is simply camouflaging what the site is really for: vicious gossip.

When you go CollegeACB.com, you’re greeted with a list of schools which have pages on the website. When you click on one, you’re taken to that school’s gossip page, which is filled with anonymous posts and replies to posts. All saying incredibly hurtful things – which may or may not be true – about real people. There are pages upon pages about the biggest sluts, the ugliest girls and other terrible things that should never be hashed out over the internet.

After being a victim of a vicious rumor spread about me via CollegeACB, I have to wonder why a site like this even exists. The site’s users and target demographic are college students. Adults. We are not in high school and we are most certainly not on the set of Gossip Girl, so why are schools, especially mine, so obsessed with such a childish and disgusting site?

The biggest problem with CollegeACB (and the main reason JuicyCampus went kaput) is that people can write absolutely whatever they want without repercussion. Because people know what they say on CollegeACB can never be traced back to them, they feel like they have the freedom to say anything – be it a made-up story, a secret that someone confided to them or simply complaining about someone’s fashion choices. This lack of real moderation means that the subject of all these “opinions” can’t fight back, clear their name, or even find out who said it. And thanks to the permanence of the internet, true or not, that statement will be forever linked to that person’s name.

It is bad enough that Peter Frank has created a space that fosters negativity and blatant sexism, but it is even more disconcerting that so many students feel the desire to hide behind their computer screens and spread vicious gossip about one another. Gossip that can really harm other people’s reputations and college experiences. Sure, most girls have probably never been a victim of a site like this, but it’s only a matter of time. The longer this site stays around, the more people will be discussed. And if anyone can say anything, what’s to say you won’t be next? Just imagine how you’d feel. Then imagine how much worse it will be down the road when you’re applying for a job and your potential employer can what some random person posted about you on this despicable site.

Gossip happens in college – I get that – but there’s a huge difference between what you may tell your best friend and what you share with anyone who has access to the Internet. The web is a good place for lots of things, like funny Youtube videos and advice on how to look cute when you have to cover yourself in layers so you don’t freeze (very useful at Northwestern), but it shouldn’t be a place to rant about people, to get back at people, or to share someone’s deepest held secrets.

If you are one of the many students frequenting a site like CollegeACB, stop. Grow up. Think about your actions. Even if no one out there knows who you are, you do! Are you really the type of person who purposely hurts someone else?

5025717 Comments2010-01-25+21%3A00%3A11Zahra-+Northwestern+University on "Let’s Stop With CollegeACB.com, OK?"

Linda says:
Mon, 25th Jan 201012:21 pm

I hadn't even heard about this site before.

Like with JuicyCampus, writing articles about ACB, kind of publicizes it. .

Angie Marie says:
Mon, 25th Jan 20102:40 pm

Juicy Campus thrived at my school, while College ACB is rarely visited. The posts also aren't nearly as vindictive as the ones that frequented Juicy Campus. And yes, I did visit Juicy Campus fairly often (it was my guilty pleasure and all my friends joked about my addiction)…but I never wrote anything negative about anyone, and instead frequently wrote postive things about those I knew who were criticized. I m glad the website is gone forever, and I am glad that College ACB is not nearly as wild, but I do miss the guilty, gossipy fun I had reading (never writing on!) Juicy Campus. Of course, I'm sure I would feel differently if I'd found my name slandered on there, ha.

Erin says:
Mon, 25th Jan 20102:58 pm

I went to my school's page. Great to see the first post to hit me was about how the girls there are ugly and beached whales would be better. Asshat. No wonder girls don't like that guy.

As much as I love that we can comment to our hearts content on sites now a days. Some sites seem to only foster hate, bigotry and sexism. I have a few in mind that I won't say, not to mention a few of my beloved websites have become more about arguing with each other than anything else.

bberg1010 says:
Mon, 25th Jan 20103:04 pm

I completely agree. A girl that lived on my floor last year was sued along with a few of her friends for internet bullying. They made a group with the main purpose of bashing this girl. I don't understand why people even do that.

http://bberg1010.wordpress.com

shari says:
Mon, 25th Jan 20104:28 pm

as someone who was greatly hurt by a lot of negative lies that were written about me on juicycampus last year, i wholeheartedly agree with this article. these website only breed hate and viciousness and it's not right.

Dana says:
Mon, 25th Jan 20105:00 pm

While I do agree that the website often fosters hatred and negativity, I see it used for a lot of good things–just the other day I could not for the life of me locate a book I needed for class the next day. I asked on the ACB if anyone knew it and within three minutes I had a response. Not only in doing so did I degrade myself, but I also proved that I was an immature person. Stop generalizing. The immature ones are the people who talk sh*t online AND OFFLINE. I, and many other people, NEVER post gossip/slander on the site. It seems as if you used this article to vindicate those that called you out online. Sorry it had to happen to you, but I think this article was simply a cry of embarassment/resentment.

M says:
Mon, 25th Jan 20107:00 pm

Sadly, I had a feeling you were writing about Northwestern even though I didn't see that with your name at the top until I scrolled back up.

I go there too and I found this site about a week ago, and honestly, I was completely ashamed to go to school here. Never thought I'd feel that way about our top-10 or whatever school, but I do. Sometimes it's not just the academics that matters, it's the character of the students. And the character of our students must not be that great if they find enjoyment in a site like this.

Jay says:
Mon, 25th Jan 20107:06 pm

Dana, you are one exception to the general contributers of collegeacb. If you look at Northwestern (and other school's) posts, you will see that 99% of these posts are cruel, malicious and could bring anyone to tears. Does this mean that Zahra is overreacting? No. It means that while you may not have used the site to bash other people, everyone else did.

So don't act like collegeacb is some site where great things happen, like finding a book, and see for yourself for what it is–a horrible, degrading piece of trash.

Job Search Engine says:
Tue, 26th Jan 20109:27 am

I read the entire blog post. I see what you're trying to say, but not everthing was clear.

sorority girl says:
Wed, 27th Jan 201010:12 am

the same goes for greekrank.com. it's a horrible website and i think people use it as a substitute for juicycampus because collegeacb isn't that popular.

Other Medill Student says:
Wed, 27th Jan 20102:25 pm

So, I saw the title of this and KNEW that you had to have written this. Northwestern just has a really unhealthy obsession.

John Shine says:
Sat, 13th Mar 20108:49 am

I think CollegeACB is stupid. I prefer http://www.talkburst.com – it's not exactly the same, you write reviews of people.

BigA says:
Sun, 25th Apr 20101:18 pm

I think people take sites like this too seriously. whether you like it or not, people (especially college kids) are going to gossip about each other anonymously on the internet. no amount of righteous indignation, boycotting, lawsuits or pretty much anything short of totalitarian internet censorship is going to completely end such gossip.Those who gossip will do so even if every such site is banned from the internet.

Yes, anonymous gossip can be extremely hurtful. However, the same anonymity that makes people feel free to write such posts ensures that no one worthwhile or intelligent will take such unsubstantiated views seriously. Just like in real-life gossip, you have to remember that the only ones who form their opinions based on unfounded, sourceless gossip are not people you want to surround yourself with anyway. If your "friends" are deserting you because of baseless internet gossip, they were never your friends and you are better off without them.

BigA says:
Sun, 25th Apr 20101:23 pm

also, no reputable employer or grad school is ever going to deny you based on juicycampus gossip. You should be far more worried about the stuff that you post on your own facebook than the astronomically remote chance that juicycampus will keep you out of grad school.

I dream of Geedi says:
Sun, 5th Dec 20105:36 pm

Sorry you didnt get a bid brah

F4G says:
Tue, 28th Dec 201012:36 pm

dont bitch

Casey says:
Mon, 13th Jun 20118:49 pm

Great article, probably the only intelligent and coherent piece on this entire site.

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