Gossip goes global on site for students

People love gossip.

But what happens when the gossip is about you, and it's posted on the Internet -- by an anonymous source -- for all to see?

Vanessa Granby, a Virginia Commonwealth University pharmacy major from the Bronx, N.Y., experienced this when unflattering remarks about her appearance were posted in October.

"I cant belive that boys really like her slopy booty," the poster wrote badly. "Her baby teeth and her to tight clothing. And come some one tell me why she had that weave in for like a week after you saw the tracks hanging out. She needs to be told she embareses New york."

Said Granby: "My friend Rita called me and said I was on JuicyCampus.com and to check it out. I saw the comments and was like, 'Oh God, here we go.'"

Granby became a hot topic of discussion, and the post about her has passed 800 views. The conversation went back and forth between those attacking her and people defending her.

She posted a challenge to her attackers.

"I put it out there for the people who wrote it to talk to me, but they didn't," she said. "They are cowards."

. . .

JuicyCampus is a message board where users, anonymously, are encouraged to write about "all the crazy stuff going on at your campus." While many posts are mean-spirited and offensive, one legal expert from Virginia said they are protected by law.

"If users' posts on [JuicyCampus'] service violate civil and criminal laws such as libel, the federal government appears to grant JuicyCampus with immunity," said Rodney A. Smolla, a First Amendment scholar and dean of Washington and Lee University's School of Law. Smolla sits on the board of directors of Media General Inc., parent company of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

While the Web site operator cannot be held liable by user postings under the Communications Decency Act, Smolla believes that courts are beginning to cut into that.

"The law is moving to create greater accountability to those who encourage users to post content that is illegal and causes harm to others," he said.

What Granby experienced at VCU is going on at college campuses across the United States.

JuicyCampus was started in August 2007, and the site now covers 500 campuses. In addition to VCU, those in Virginia include Virginia Union University, Virginia Tech, the College of William and Mary, Old Dominion University and the University of Richmond.

The site requires no user name, no e-mail verification, and no registration.

"The site is college kids talking about what interests them most," said Matt Ivester, founder of JuicyCampus and a Duke University graduate. "It is the exact opposite of Facebook," a popular social-networking site.

JuicyCampus generates revenue by selling advertising; Ivester refused to discuss whether the site is profitable. Examples of advertisers on the site are PassionSearch, which runs personal ads aimed at college students, and Vonage, an Internet phone service.

Typical posts range from questions on best fraternities to most-promiscuous women.

With the blanket of anonymity, some students are using JuicyCampus to fulfill personal vendettas without fear of consequences.

"We have three major rules: no spam, no hate speech, and no contact information," Ivester said.

. . .

A search through the VCU section of JuicyCampus shows that rules frequently are broken.

The site is riddled with racist comments, such as: "Black people are taking over the site! Leave now!"

With no control over the content, students have little recourse against false rumors. Users can click an "agree" or "disagree" button with any post.

"We don't remove content at the user's request. Anyone can say [a post] is not true," Ivester said. "If a post goes to court, then it will be taken down."

That hasn't happened yet, he said.

Ivester acknowledges the Web site sometimes gets out of hand. He reacts when posts go against his rules. In a blog post, he wrote: "We want you to make JuicyCampus juicy, not hateful."

Ivester said anonymity can lead to irresponsible comments, but he doesn't plan to change.

Not every student wants posts to remain anonymous.

Godsgrace Tetteyfio, a VCU mass-communications major, says anonymity exposes the immaturity of the students who use it. "It's very high school. College students should be more mature," Tetteyfio said.

Even with the anonymity, students should be wary of what they write on JuicyCampus. "There are federal and state laws for threats on the Internet," VCU police Capt. David Q. Welch said.

The issue is that opinions are protected by law, but lies are not.

. . .

JuicyCampus made news this year and last when students at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y., and Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles were arrested in connection with posts about shooting rampages.

"JuicyCampus is immune to liability arising from content posted by users," Ivester said. "We are not the authors of the posts."

Some universities are considering blocking JuicyCampus, and last month Tennessee State University became the first to ban JuicyCampus from its Web servers.

VCU has not made any attempt to block the site, said Thomas M. Gresham, a VCU spokesman.

Ivester, meanwhile, is planning the next stages of JuicyCampus' expansion.

"There are 2,400 college campuses," he said. "We want to be on all of them."