Since the infamous college gossip Web site Juicy Campus closed in February 2009, two alternative Web sites have sprung up to fill the gap.
While the two Web sites, CollegeACB and CampusGossip target Juicy Campus's former fan base — college students — they have different goals for how students will use their site.
The defunct Juicy Campus web site now directs users to CollegeACB, an “Anonymous Confession Board” for college students because CollegeACB owner and Wesleyan University sophomore Peter Frank paid Juicy Campus creator Matt Ivester $10,000 for the arrangement.
Despite the growing popularity of these Web sites, many UNC students interviewed say they would not use them.
Eryn Heying, a junior political science major from Kansas City, Mo, used to follow Juicy Campus, but stopped when posts that she said were hurtful to her friends started to appear.
“I think that people get behind their computers and think that what they say doesn’t affect people. But it does," she said. “I think after Juicy Campus, I’m done."
Many claimed that the posts on Juicy Campus were false or defamatory. Multiple colleges banned the Web site from campus.
"For many colleges we are the new Juicy Campus,” Frank said, although he also said he regrets that many from his new audience tend toward gossip, which he says is not the purpose of CollegeACB.
Frank said he sees CollegeACB, which now has more than 500 schools listed on its Web site, as a forum for free speech more than for gossip. He even removes offensive posts upon request.
