1/25/2016

HateYikYakAndAnonymousGossipSitesAllYouWant,ButTheyWon'tGoAway

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HateYikYakAndAnonymousGossipSitesAllYou
Want,ButTheyWon'tGoAway
01/14/201508:06pmET|UpdatedJan20,2015
TylerKingkade
SeniorEditor/Reporter,TheHuffingtonPost

hroughout2014,studentsatColgateUniversityincentralNew
Yorkwereoutragedbyaslewofracistcomments.Theydidn't
knowwhosaidthem,justthattheycamefrompeopleonor

closetocampus.That'sbecausetheoffensiveremarksappearedon
YikYak,anappthatsharesanonymouspostswiththosenearby.
YikYak,whichallowsuserstoreachotheruserswithin1.5miles,isthe
latestsocialmediacrazeoncollegecampuses,andonethatcansenda
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HateYikYakAndAnonymousGossipSitesAllYouWant,ButTheyWon'tGoAway

schoolintoanuproarwithjustafewviciousposts.Studentsprotestedat
ColgateinSeptember,arguingthattheracistmessagescirculatingonYik
Yakweresymptomaticoflargerdiversityissuesattheschool.Those
postsbecameevenmorehatefulafterstudentsdemonstratedin
DecemberinresponsetothedeathsofunarmedblackmenMichael
BrownandEricGarner.Somestudentsweresingledoutinthe"yaks"for
physicalthreats.

Inresponse,someColgatefacultymembershadanidea:tobombard
YikYakwithpositivecommentsattachedtotheirrealnamesand
cleanupthelocalforumbyexample.Morethan50faculty
participatedduringtheDec.12experiment.Butbythenextweek,
biologyprofessorGeoffHolmsaid,thepostshadreturnedtotheir
usualtone.
"Thepostsaremainlyfocusedonsexandpoopagain,"
saidHolm,whohelpedorganizethe"YakBack"effort.
"It'stheInternetequivalentofthetruckstopbathroom
wall,"hesaid."Someofthepostsareamusing,some
ofthepostsareaboutgenitaliaandbodilyfluids,and
someofthepostsgetdownrightracist.Sohowdoyou
controlthat?Howdoyouasacampuscommunitysay,
'Youcandothis,butyoucan'tdothat'withtheposts?"
Nationwide,2014appearedtobetheyearofYikYak
oncollegecampuses,buttheexistenceofanonymous
onlinegossipsitesisfarfromanewdilemmafor
universities.Forthebetterpartofadecadesincethe
riseofJuicyCampusin2007collegeshavestruggled
todealwithunruly,recklessandsometimessavage
messagesspreadthroughanonymousInternetforums.
"Ithinkwiththeseforums,we'regettingafingerona
pulseofhowracistmanystudentsare,"saidAndrea
Press,aUniversityofVirginiasociologistwhospent
twoyearsresearchingCollegeACB,anowdefunct
gossipsite.It'sshocking,Presssaid,becausewe're
seeingasideofpeoplethatisoftenkepthidden.
PrincetonstudentsprotestinginDecemberoverthe
deathsofBrownandGarnerweredescribedonYik
Yakas"coloredpeoplegettingmilitant."
DemonstrationsatPennStateUniversitypromptedYik
Yakuserstopostmessageslike,"Ihate
porchmonkeys."Alreadythisyear,studentshave
complainedofsimilarcommentsappearingatClemson
andtheUniversityofNorthCarolina.BackatColgate,
studentswhospokewithTheHuffingtonPostsaidthey'dbehappytosee
YikYakbannedoncampussomeschoolshaveblockedsuchwebsites
andforumsfromtheirnetworksbutallagreeditwouldn'tdoanygood.
Afterall,userscouldjustjumptoadifferentWiFinetworktoaccessYik
Yak.Lawsuitsdon'tlookliketheanswereither.Thankstothefederal
CommunicationsDecencyAct,operatorsofsuchwebsitesandappsare
protectedfromliabilityformaliciouscommentsthatusersmakeintheir
forums,justasnewssitesaren'tliablefortheircommentsections.

YikYaksaysithasfilterstriggeredbyracist,homophobicandother
hatespeechthatcanremoveapostsoonafterithasbeenposted.
Butthatclearlyhasn'tstoppedsuchmessagesfromappearingand
circulatingonmanycampuses.
Anonymouspostscangetuglyfast.AtVanderbiltUniversity,usersof
CollegiateACB,whichwaspopularin2012and2013beforeshutting
down,referredtoawomanwhoreportedasexualassaultatafraternityas
the"girlwhoratted,"amongotheraccusatoryandoftenvulgarterms.Iowa
StateUniversityusersturnedtoYikYaktospreadthewordabouta
Snapchataccountthatwaspostingillicitphotosofstudentsoncampus.At
Bored@Baker,ananonymousforumconfinedtoDartmouthCollege,
someoneposteda"rapeguide"thattargetedaspecificstudent,wholater
cameforwardtosayshehadbeensexuallyassaulted."[Students]wonder
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HateYikYakAndAnonymousGossipSitesAllYouWant,ButTheyWon'tGoAway

ifthepeoplewhomtheypassoncampus
walkwaysarethepostersofthisbile,ora
personinclassorthedininghall,"said
AlisonL.Boden,PrincetonUniversity's
deanofreligiouslife."YikYakwon'tstop
students'activism,theirspeakingout,but
itleavesthemfeelingreviled,surveilled
andunsafe."TheyRise,TheyFall
AlthoughJuicyCampuswasthefirst
campusbasedgossipforumtoattract
nationalcontroversywhilespreadingto
hundredsofcolleges,itwasn'tthefirstto
exist.ThatwastheBored@franchise.Jae
Daemonthemonikerpreferredbythe
Bored@founder,whowishestobe
anonymoushimselfforthisstorysaidhe
launchedthefirstiterationinJanuary
2006whenhewas,aptly,boredinthe
ButlerLibraryatColumbiaUniversity.He
thenexpandedtheplatformtoseveral
otherselectivecolleges,andbyMarch
2007,TheNewYorkerhaddeemed
Daemon'swebsitesthe"newbathroom
wall."

The First
Bored@
"Jae Daemon" launched the first in the
current wave of anonymous campusbased message boards in January 2006
when he was, well, bored at the Butler
library on Columbia University's campus.
He put together a basic anonymous
forum, posted flyers around campus
inviting others to post on it, and then
expanded to a couple of other Ivy
League schools.

12:00 AM
JuicyCampus
Launches

College ACB Begins

JuicyCampus' Rise

JuicyCampus Launches

2006

2007

2008

2009

College ACB En

JuicyCampus Folds

2010

2011

Atthetime,Twitterwasinitsinfancy,Facebookhadnofeedand
MySpacewasalltherage.Bored@wasaplaceforpeopleto"truly"
speaktheirminds,Daemonsaid,anditspopularitygrewwithout
promotion.
"Bored@hassurvivedovertheyearsbywordofmouth,curioususers
whofindtheirwaytoitandthosewhohaveenjoyedthesiteenoughto
anonymouslyinviteothers,"hesaid.WhileBored@focusedonelite
institutionsitscollegespecificforumsarerestrictedtostudentswitha
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HateYikYakAndAnonymousGossipSitesAllYouWant,ButTheyWon'tGoAway

validemailaddressfromthatschoolrecentDukeUniversitygraduate
MattIvesterlaunchedhisown,splashierversioncalledJuicyCampuswith
abroadercanvas.Ivester'ssitewouldeventuallyreach500campuses
nationwide."WhenIstartedit,Ijustthoughtitwouldbesomethingthat
wouldbereallypopular,"Ivestersaid."Ithoughtitdbekindoflighthearted
andentertaining.Didn'tthinktoomuchhow,whenpeopleareanonymous,
itcangetmuchmoreviciousthaniteverwouldinperson."JuicyCampus
worked,Ivestersaid,becausepeoplecouldtalkaboutcampuscelebrities
therethesamewaytheytalkedaboutnationalcelebs.But,heconceded,
thefreedomtoattackindividualsasfatoranorexicorpromiscuouswas
alsoitsdownfall.Collegesbannedthewebsitefromtheirserversasits
negativesidedrewcriticismfromstudents.Theattorneysgeneralof
ConnecticutandNewJerseyopenedconsumerfraudinvestigationsinto
JuicyCampus.Advertisersabandonedthewebsiteoveritssalacious
reputation."Therewasnoadvertisingrevenue,nobusinessmodelthat
madesense,"Ivestersaid."Itwasn'tfuntorun,andtheanonymousmodel
washurtful,andalotofthepostswerejustsomeanspirited."Heclosed
upshopinFebruary2009,foratimeredirectingvisitorstothepagetoa
newplayer:CollegeACB.ThoughsimilartoJuicyCampus,CollegeACB
addedsomeuserregulationfeatures.Eventhen,thesamekindofprurient
gossippromptedstudentboycottsofthesite.ItshutdowninJanuary
2011.Thenextyear,CollegiateACBlaunchedtoreplaceCollegeACB.

The Gossip Master of College ACB

ThetwoCollegiateACBcofounders,UniversityofFloridastudentKirk
HenfandUniversityofCentralFloridastudentTimO'Shea,triedtolinkthe
sitewithcontroversy,activelyseekingpublicityafterthreatsonthesiteled
toarrests,whenuniversitypolicedepartmentscontactedthesiteabout
threateningpostsandthroughoutthebrouhahaoverBelleKnox,theDuke
Universityfreshmanwhosecareerasapornstarsentthecampusintoa
tizzy.ButeventheoutingofKnoxwasn'tenoughtokeepthesitegoing,
anditneverreachedthesamelevelofpopularityasCollegeACB.When
CollegiateACBwassoldinmid2014toanundisclosedbuyerononline
auctionsiteFlippafor$27,500,onecofounderwroteinFlippa'slisting,
"Theattentionthathasbeenassociatedwithitasoflate,althoughpositive
forbusiness,issomethingthathasdeeplyimpactedrelationshipswith
friendsandfamily,andInolongerwishtobeapartofsomethingthathas
thisnegativeconnotationinvolved."YikYakcamealonginlate2013,but
hasgrownexponentiallyinthepastyear.Thecompany,whichdeclined
repeatedrequestsforinterviewsandcomment,hasreportedlyraised
some$75millioninnewfinancing.Inadditiontofiltersforracistand
homophobicwords,representativesforthesitepointoutthatuserscan
essentiallycensoreachotherbydownvotingmessages.YetYikYakis
facingthesameturmoilasitspredecessors,includingcallsforboycottson
campus.WhyStudentsGoToGossipSitesDefendersofthese
anonymousforumscanbehardtofindamidthefloodofstudentopeds
arguingagainstthem.Yetthere'snodoubttheyhaveadedicateduser
base."Forme,thereasonwhyIamdrawntotheapp,whyIuseitso
much,isIenjoymakingotherpeoplelaugh,"saidTylerThompson,a
StanfordUniversitysophomore."WhenIgetalotofupvotesonayak,
thatbringsmealotofsatisfaction."Thompsonisafrequent"yaker"who
wasapproachedlastspringtobecomeanambassadorfortheappon
campus,apaidgigwherehehandsoutYikYakswagtoStanford
students.WhereasTwitterisgoodfortrackingcurrentevents,Thompson
saidhemostlyusesYikYaktoseewhatpeoplearetalkingorjokingabout
oncampus.Itbothershimwhenpeopledismissitasacyberbullyingapp,
hesaid,because"98percentofthecontentisnotthatway."Whilein
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Pakistanduringhiswinterbreak,OhioWesleyanUniversityseniorIbrahim
UroojSaeedsaidhesawlotsofmessagesfromPakistaniswhostudyat
U.S.collegesandwerehomevisitingfamily.Thosepostsoffereduseful
perspectiveonbouncingbetweenthetwocountries."It'sveryinteresting
toseethechallengessomestudentsfacewhentheyspendasemesteron
acollegecampusandthensuddenlyareinKarachiwheretheirfreedom
levelsarealotlower,"Saeedsaid.RachelDrucker,aColgatesophomore
andactivistwiththeColgateAssociationofCriticalCollegians,seesYik
Yakfromadifferentperspective.Assomeonewhoshesaidhasbeenon
thereceivingendofhatredfromanonymousmessages,Druckerworries
thatsomeofthesamepeoplewhomakethevilepostscouldbesitting
nexttoherinclass."Evenifsomeonepostssomethingonananonymous
forumthattheymightnotsayinpublic,itstillspeaksvolumesthatthey
wouldchoosetopostanythingatall,"shesaid."Oftentimes,Colgate
studentsandfacultysaythatweshouldn'tworryaboutYikYakbecause
peoplewillposthatefulthingsonanonymousforumsthattheywouldn't
eversayoutloud.Thisisnotatallcomfortingtome."Theprimaryissue
forthefailedsites,however,hasnotbeenstudents'comfortlevelbutthe
effectofallthecriticismontheirprofitability.Mostoftheirincomehas
comethroughadvertising,soassoonascontroversywarycompanies
starttopulltheirads,therevenuethatkeepsthesitesafloatvanishes,too.
That'sonekeydistinctionfortheBored@sites:Theyrunondonations
fromusersthoughthey'renotturningasignificantprofit.Daemonsaid
heworksonthewebforumsbecausehelovesthe"technicaland
philosophicalchallenges"ofbuildinga"pseudoanonymousenvironment."

AscreenshotfromtheearlydaysofBored@Butler,ananonymousforumatColumbia.

Butthatfreedomfromadvertisingconcernsdoesn'tmeanDaemon
canignoretheissueofhatefulposts.Hiswebsitespromotesome
usersto"trustworthypersonalities"withmoderationprivileges,and
theyvoteonwhatshouldbedonewithaflaggedpost.Daemon
suggestedthatanadvantageofthissystemisthat"moderatorshave
theabilitytocollaboratewiththeirpeersonwhyoneshouldvotea
certainway."
Hesaidheisn'tafraidtoshutdownoneofhissitestemporarilywhenit
becomesoverrunbyracistorsexistcomments.He'salsohappytoassist
policewhentheyspotaseriousthreatinaforum,likethebombthreat
againstDartmouth'scommencementin2013,whichpoliceandtheFBI
easilytracedbacktotheuserwhopostedit.Aroundthecountry,more
thanadozenpeoplewerearrestedinthefall2014semesterformaking
similarthreatsonYikYak.Thompson,theStanfordstudent,arguesthat
Bored@'smoderatorregulationissimilartoYikYak'sdownvotingfeature
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afewdownvotesandapostisgone.Whileheconcedesthatanonymity
freessomeuserstosayhorriblethings,heseesYikYak'sstrength
ultimatelyasaforumforinsidejokesandcommentary."Itmakesyoufeel
partofthecommunity,"Thompsonsaid."Whenafunnythingisactually
cateredtoourschool,ourcampus,itmakesitthatmuchfunnier."The
ToxicSideOfAnonymity"TheInternethasgreatlyexpandedallspeech,
includinggoodspeechandsocalledbadspeech,"saidTracyMitrano,
formerdirectorofITpolicyatCornellUniversity."Thatisarealitycolleges
anduniversitiesmustcontendwith."Thefactthatanonymousforums
producediscoursesodrasticallydifferentfromwhatmostpeoplewould
sayfacetofacecanbeexplainedbythe"onlinedisinhibitioneffect,"
accordingtothesocialpsychologyexperts.Freedoftheirownidentityina
sense,peopledroptheirselfrestraint.Theymayexpresstheirfeelings,
includingangerandbias,moreintensely.Thesafetyofanonymityalso
encouragesrisktaking,whichdoesn'tnecessarilybringoutthebestin
people.

Oncepeopledecidetoentersuch
forums,theanonymityitselfcancreate
acommonidentitywithstronggroup
norms,accordingtoresearchbyRobert
E.Kraut,aprofessorofhuman
computerinteractionatCarnegie
MellonUniversity.
"Iknowhowpopularthistypeofcontent
canbe,"saidIvester,theJuicyCampus
founder."IthinkitwouldbefairtosayI'm
disappointed,butI'mnotsurprisedthat
companieslikethiscontinuetopopup
andoperate.Theyexploitahuman
nature."Andsothecycleseemslikelyto
continue:Thenewwebsiteorappwill
advertiseitselftocollegestudentsasa
placetotrulyspeaktheirminds,until
salaciousgossip,hatespeechandvitriol
becomeitsmostnotedaspectswhilethe
foundersdisavowsuchcomments.
Eventuallyalossofrevenuestemmingfromthenegativitywillkillthesite,
andacopycatwillrisetoreplaceit.Today,JuicyCampus,CollegeACB
andCollegiateACBarevirtuallyunknowntoundergraduates,while
Bored@remainslimitedtoahandfulofcampuses.Ivesterstillownsthe
URLJuicyCampus.com,whichnowleadstooneofhislatestapps:Kindr,
whichdirectsuserstosendcomplimentstopeopleorreadupliftingnews.
HerecentlylaunchedReveal,asocialmediaappthatrequiresusersto
sendphotoswiththeircomments,whichhearguesisanpushagainst
anonymity.YikYakremainsthehotapponcampus,evenascompetitors
arealreadyvyingtoreplaceit.DormChatuserscananonymously
messageeachotheroncampus.Peoplewithan.eduemailcansignup
forerodrwhileSecret,whichisbasicallyaYikYakgearedtowardworking
adults.

Colgateprofessorssaythey'restillkeepinganeyeonYikYak.Ifthe
yaksfocusedontheircollegecommunityturnreallyvileagain,Holm
saidthatheandhiscolleagueswilllikelyjumpbackintoremind
studentsthatthey'rewatchingandthatwordshaveconsequences.
MORE:IvyLeague,Acceptance&Inclusion,YoungLifestyle,YikYak,ColgateUniversity,Juicycampus,BoredAtBaker,YikYakControversy,CollegiateAcb,
AnonymousGossipWebsites,BoredAtButler,YikYakGossip,CollegeAcb,BoredAtForum,AnonymousGossip,AnonymousGossipSites

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