Spring Break
Controversial website provides mask of anonymity
Issue date: 4/10/08
They're silent, always clicking, but not always contributing.
Known on the Internet as "lurkers," they represent the vast majority of visitors to anonymous message boards, including one which has quickly grown into something of a phenomenon at Hopkins: JHU Confessions.
Launched in January and envisioned as a free speech haven for students, participants have pushed the limits of that freedom, leading to an increase in content moderation, though the University has no plans to interfere with the site.
"It's a good thing for students on campus so I'm glad [the administration is] not making a move against us," said the JHU Confessions webmaster, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity. "I'm a little surprised."
When posts mentioning suicide began to appear, JHU Confessions' moderators started actively interfering in the anonymous student discussions. In a thread titled "Reasons not to commit suicide?" the majority of replies advised the student to seek professional help, but the moderators quickly deleted those that did not.
"I'll jump in every once in a while and delete posts," the webmaster said.
At the beginning, JHU Confessions, which was inspired by similar anonymous student forums at Wesleyan University and Oberlin College, did not restrict discussions. Now, potentially harmful posts, like those encouraging suicide, will be removed and the moderators will ban users who repeatedly post similar comments, since they simply clutter the discussions.
Though the student moderators have placed more restrictions on the site, the University currently has no plans to take action against JHU Confessions. However, it reserves the right to notify students against visiting it, should enough complaints be heard.
"If enough students weren't happy with it, we could probably say this is a site that students wouldn't want to visit," Dorothy Sheppard, associate dean of student affairs, said.
Sheppard explained that before the University takes any proactive measures to restrict visitation to the site, it must gather more research and listen to more student testimonies, neither of which it currently does.
Known on the Internet as "lurkers," they represent the vast majority of visitors to anonymous message boards, including one which has quickly grown into something of a phenomenon at Hopkins: JHU Confessions.
Launched in January and envisioned as a free speech haven for students, participants have pushed the limits of that freedom, leading to an increase in content moderation, though the University has no plans to interfere with the site.
"It's a good thing for students on campus so I'm glad [the administration is] not making a move against us," said the JHU Confessions webmaster, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity. "I'm a little surprised."
When posts mentioning suicide began to appear, JHU Confessions' moderators started actively interfering in the anonymous student discussions. In a thread titled "Reasons not to commit suicide?" the majority of replies advised the student to seek professional help, but the moderators quickly deleted those that did not.
"I'll jump in every once in a while and delete posts," the webmaster said.
At the beginning, JHU Confessions, which was inspired by similar anonymous student forums at Wesleyan University and Oberlin College, did not restrict discussions. Now, potentially harmful posts, like those encouraging suicide, will be removed and the moderators will ban users who repeatedly post similar comments, since they simply clutter the discussions.
Though the student moderators have placed more restrictions on the site, the University currently has no plans to take action against JHU Confessions. However, it reserves the right to notify students against visiting it, should enough complaints be heard.
"If enough students weren't happy with it, we could probably say this is a site that students wouldn't want to visit," Dorothy Sheppard, associate dean of student affairs, said.
Sheppard explained that before the University takes any proactive measures to restrict visitation to the site, it must gather more research and listen to more student testimonies, neither of which it currently does.
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