College ACB

Message from Peter Frank

2011-01-24T10:23:00.001-08:00

I want to alert you that I’m selling my stake in CollegeACB, and that new managers will take over control of the site in the next day or so.

I’m proud of the growth of the site under my watch – from use at only a few schools, to the largest college anonymous confession board in the world, with over 20 million monthly pageviews from over 400,000 unique visitors. Mostly, though, I’m proud of the occasions when the site has helped people share feelings and discuss sensitive topics in a sincere fashion that might not otherwise have been possible.

We’ve certainly had our share of controversy, but we’ve responded to users and have deleted over 30,000 posts, while preserving the site’s essential identity as an open anonymous forum.

I know that the new managers share my goal of raising the level of discourse on the site, and I’m excited to see their progress in the coming months.

Thank you,

Peter Frank

On Moderation

2010-05-04T10:12:00.000-07:00

There seems to be some confusion about my level of moderation. Hopefully this post helps to explain how posts are removed from CollegeACB.com. I do not remove posts or threads at my own discretion, even if they exist only to attack me.

There are two ways in which posts/threads are removed.

1) Students self-moderate and posts are removed automatically. Under each and every post/thread, there is a "report" button. Every time a logged in user "reports" a post, that post's "report" value is increased. When it reaches a certain threshold, that post is automatically removed. I don't see individual reports, everything is managed by values in the database.

2) Students e-mail us directly. Upon e-mailing CollegeACB@gmail.com (the only approved method of communication), one will receive this reply:

This is an automatic e-mail reply that addresses 90% of the inquiries
we receive.

Under the federal Communications Decency Act of 1996, web service
providers such as CollegeACB.com have no responsibility for
user-generated content. Moreover, CollegeACB.com does not have any
legal obligation to remove offensive posts. However, we sincerely
seek to raise the level of discourse on the site and, therefore, we
voluntarily offer to remove offensive posts as follows:

1 – To request that a post be deleted, please click on the
following link to make your request:
http://collegeacb.com/sb.php?school=wes&page=pdr_page. You must
include the specific post numbers that you want deleted. And please
note that you may not submit a deletion request on behalf of others.

2 – You will be given a ticket link that allows you to keep
track of the status of your request. If the post is not deleted
within a day or two, the reason will be set forth on the link, above.

3 – We do not otherwise respond to requests that posts be
deleted. Please do not call our voicemail or attempt to contact us in
any other way -- email is always your best option.

If your e-mail is not related to removal of posts, we will attempt to
respond to you as soon as possible, usually within a day or two.

After filling out the post deletion request form, their request will make its way into a queue. I'll usually go through the queue and respond to requests several times daily, but it will occasionally take over a day for me to make it through all of the requests.

Upon filling out the post deletion request form, one is given a ticket link. This link allows them to view the status of their request. If the requested post/thread is not removed, we will always give a reason viewable through their ticket link. Some common reasons we don't remove posts include:

-Not referring to specific post numbers. An example would be someone requesting a topic such as "Hottest Sorority Girls" be removed, without referring to specific post numbers that mention them by name.
-Threads dedicated to discussion of an organization (as opposed to an individual). An example: "What is AXO's Reputation?"

This obviously isn't a perfect system, but every person contacting us is a) given a deletion request link, and b) given a ticket link to view the status of their request. When we don't remove the requested post, there will always be a reason viewable in the ticket link.

I also want to address the varying levels of discourse on different boards. For schools on CollegeACB.com before the closing of JuicyCampus, there is generally less "trash-talking" than other schools. Why is this? It's not a reflection on the students themselves, but rather the culture associated with the ACB. For some schools, it is a forum to procrastinate, ask for advice, etc. For others, it has been used as a continuation of the "Juicy Campus" culture of trash-talking and gossiping. At it's core, CollegeACB.com is a student controlled open forum that can be used for anything. You'll notice that the categories we suggest are separated into: "Advice, Sex, Issues, Academics." We have never called for salacious gossip.

If we were to shut down right now, there would be countless replacements up and popular within weeks, if not days. We already have competitors who tout that they will never remove posts, no matter how libelous. The concept of the ACB has existed long before my involvement with the website.

I hope I have addressed at least some of the issues that students have with the website. I'll do my best to eventually answer any thoughtful questions and suggestions left through comments to this blog.

Record Day

2010-02-01T09:38:00.001-08:00

CollegeACB had a record day yesterday. We saw over 900,000 impressions -- unreal! It's hard to judge the number of unique users (due to multiple connections through a single router, library computers, stuff like that), but it was likely a record number as well.

Thanks, everybody!

ReCaptcha

2009-11-10T19:08:00.000-08:00

Every time a (non logged in) user posts a new topic or reply, they must fill out an anti-spam filter. Here's some info about CAPTCHAs.

A CAPTCHA is a program that can tell whether its user is a human or a computer. You've probably seen them — colorful images with distorted text at the bottom of Web registration forms. CAPTCHAs are used by many websites to prevent abuse from "bots," or automated programs usually written to generate spam. No computer program can read distorted text as well as humans can, so bots cannot navigate sites protected by CAPTCHAs.

reCAPTCHA is digitizing old NYTimes, and every time a user fills out a CAPTCHA you are helping. Logged in users do not need to fill out a CAPTCHA, but the vast majority of posts are made from users who are not logged in. Combining the total number of replies and topics, we can estimate the total number of successful CAPTCHAs at 799,087.

That's quite a number. If we figure an average of 10 seconds per CAPTCHA, that equals out to:

2,219.68 Hours
92.48 Days
55.5 Work Weeks (40 Hour)

It would have taken a human being, working 40 hours a week, over a year to do the same amount of reCAPTCHAs. That's kind of cool to think about. I wonder how many days/weeks of NYTimes we've helped digitize.

Take care,
Peter

Source:
http://recaptcha.net/learnmore.html

Common E-mail Themes

2009-11-04T09:49:00.000-08:00

Addressing some common themes from e-mails:

We get e-mails every day asking us to remove posts. We almost always comply, and our system allows us to delete objectionable material very quickly while letting people check the status of their request. Often the e-mails are well written and courteous, but usually we see some combination of the following:

"You have 24 hours before I contact my attorney."
You don't have a lawyer. Roughly half the people who e-mail us claim to be "contacting their attorney." Sorry, but both of us know you don't have a lawyer, please quit pretending. And the fact that your uncle's friend is a lawyer doesn't count.

"I'm going to sue you."
No you're not... well, you're not going to win anyways. Feel free to try though, I guess. Actually, just kidding, please don't sue me.

"You're clearly a horrible person."
I certainly don't think so, but everyone is entitled to their opinions. Our site doesn't call for salacious gossip, we let students dictate discussion. While I concede that the level of discourse is nowhere I'd like it to be, I'm passionate about giving an open forum for discussion where people can share without fear of retribution.

"These sites are illegal, that's why JuicyCampus got shut down."
First of all, there's nothing illegal about running a site like this. Second of all, JuicyCampus was not shut down, they voluntarily closed due to lack of revenue. It had nothing to do with any legal pressure.

"Awesome site brah!"
Thanks, Joebin.

"Take off XYZ University, no one likes it here."
I don't think you speak for everyone; perhaps you and your friends don't like it.

Anyways, thought I'd address some common e-mail themes in a public space.

Take care,
Peter Frank

ACB Blog

2009-11-03T14:18:00.000-08:00

I'll be updating this blog much more frequently. I will also be allowing comments, and will try to respond to as many as possible.

Take care,
Peter Frank

New Server + Better Code

2009-07-30T15:59:00.000-07:00

We're now on a dedicated server which will offer better stability and speed.

Our code was also optimized by Dewey Gaedcke, founder of www.Minggl.com. Any lag during peak hours should be gone.

New Server

2009-02-09T09:36:00.000-08:00

CollegeACB.com is now on a much stronger server which will offer better security and stability.

Juicy Campus Closing

2009-02-05T13:09:00.001-08:00

www.CollegeACB.com
Juicy Campus Replacement

It's an exciting day for the ACB. (Anonymous Confession Board)

In the wake of Juicy Campus' closing, we find ourselves in a unique position to establish ourselves as the new standard in anonymous college posting. The ACB is much like Juicy Campus, but there are several key differences. For one, we wish to promote deep and thoughtful discussion -- as well as the occasional "gossipy" post. We rely on user moderation, to help us flag any posts that may be threatening, racist, or otherwise illegal. Additionally, each college has it's own board, providing a more personally relevant atmosphere. Below is our mission statement:

The CollegeACB 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.

Topics vary from sex and sexuality, to politics, to classes and campus life. There is of course controversy over these discussions, as they sometimes tend to devolve into people talking trash about each other. But while JuicyCampus encourages their users to make salacious posts, the ACB encourages actual discussion. Sexuality, for example, is a topic that can be easier to talk about under anonymity, and does not have turn into a discussion about specific people in a highly negative manner. By simply adding a report button, a very small amount of moderation, and setting a few loose rules about libel, CollegeACB has been able to avoid the large number of libelous posts seen on a “gossip” style website. Login is not required to post, however you have the option of logging in to use some of the additional features of the site, such as private messaging, identity swapping, and marking your favorite threads to find them later.

Please bear with us as we continue to add features, and update individual-school pages. Some features may not be online for some schools. What are you waiting for!? Head on over to www.CollegeACB.com

Peter Frank
collegeacb@gmail.com

PS: Media inquiries via e-mail will get first priority. Put "Media" somewhere in the subject line and I will get back to you ASAP. This includes college newspapers.

CollegeACB Press Release

2009-02-05T12:57:00.000-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Peter Frank
CollegeACB.com
Phone: (424) 222-9781
http://www.CollegeACB.com
collegeacb@gmail.com

CollegeACB.com to Offer Free Anonymous College Discussion

With the recent closing of Juicy Campus, students nationwide were left scouring the internet, in search of an honest, and engaging, web-based community. They have found the Anonymous Confession Board.

The Anonymous Confession Board, or the ACB, is quickly becoming the central hub of college campuses around the country, giving students the freedom to voice their opinions and ask questions about any facet of college life. It is the campus center, the dorm room, the cafeteria, and the lecture hall, all combined into a single, easily accessible forum where everyone is invited to converse openly, without fear of reprisal or reprimand. From sexuality to politics, from keg parties to concerns about course selections, the ACB is a website that helps build community and engenders the open exchange of information.

A relative newcomer, the ACB was originally developed by recent college graduates Andrew Mann of JHU and Aaron Larner of Wesleyan University. It is now owned and operated by Peter Frank. The site is devoted to promoting actual discussion, not provoking salacious posts or personal attacks. Its mission statement reads: “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."

Such a philosophy sets the ACB apart from Juicy Campus, a website that fostered superficial interactions, often derogatory and needlessly crude. By contrast, the ACB consistently hosts a higher level of discourse—while still making room for the occasional gossip post.

Other differences between the ACB and the now-defunct Juicy prove more than superficial. The ACB employs an innovative user-moderation button, which allows for easy yet unobtrusive regulation. Any post that might be threatening, libelous, or otherwise illegal, is immediately brought to the webmaster’s attention. In addition, the ACB provides a more personal experience for the user, as it is organized into individual college boards. And unlike other college boards, the web space is not overcrowded with ads. Lastly, it is worth noting that the ACB has embarked upon an expansion phase—several new features will be unveiled in the coming months.

Contact info: For now, all e-mail should be diverted to collegeacb@gmail.com. Anyone can feel free to post, but only users who register (for free) will be able to take advantage of the special features (private messaging, etc). If you are curious, please head on over to CollegeACB.com, find your own ACB, and enjoy the discussions.

Note: Not all functionality is working, as we are in the process of accommodating the influx of new campus users.

For information: http://www.CollegeACB.com or
Contact: collegeacb@gmail.com
Phone: (888) 823-9457
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