Can anonymity save Princetonians from ennui? Yes, if the popularity of boredatfirestone.com is any indication.
The website — an experimental blog where students converse simply, quickly, freely and completely anonymously — has quickly taken off since its Oct. 26 opening, thanks in large part to an apparent campus wellspring of repressed sexual curiosity.
The idea was born at Columbia University, where recent Columbia graduate Jonathan Pappas created boredatbutler.com, named after the school's Butler Library. Columbians loved it, and by popular demand, Pappas created eight more "boredat" sites for top U.S. universities.
"Basically I'm trying to create a space of completely free speech," Pappas said, "just to see what happens."
Conversations on the Princeton version of the site — now at the height of its popularity, with 1,548 posts on Wednesday alone — range from the highly trivial to the highly sexual. Occasional posts reveal frustration far deeper than what any essay can provoke: "looking for fun time on alexander beach RIGHT NOW $75 find me outside frist."
In addition to the obscene and the inconsequential, some posts attempt more serious dailogue. One discussion debated the respective merits of USG presidential candidates Rob Biederman '08 and Grant Gittlin '08. The site occasionally veers toward the quasiphilosophical: Would you rather fly or read minds? Would a straight man have sex with his male celebrity idol?
Despite the site's high volume, some participants comment on the shortage of users. During non-peak hours, comments like "not enough Princetonians know of this site yet; someone's got to spread the word" are common.
When night rolls around, as many as 10 users actively post, though countless more may be watching silently, reading but not posting.
"Is there a specific culture that likes it?" Pappas said. A few posts answered his question: users aren't just those who are bored at Firestone, one wrote. "It's more like lonelyatprinceton." The next minute, others suggested "sexuallyfrustratedatprinceton," "closetedatprinceton" and "easygirlatprinceton."
The key to the site appears to be simplicity. Users can agree or disagree with posts, trash them or deem them "newsworthy." This site also features "This week's best," a list of the most agreed-upon "newsworthy" quotes from each school. Princeton's leader for the week: "harvard kids are so lame they think princeton studetns (sic) are 'out of the loop' for not using this site."
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