Justin Doody's "Rate BU" Web Site Angers Students

Boston University sophomore Justin Doody went meta on media when he claimed "The Social Network" as inspiration for RateBU.com,
a new site that allows users to rank female students on how attractive they are using photos uploaded from Facebook.

According to the Boston University Quad, Doody cites the film's depiction of Facemash, the site Mark Zuckerberg invented prior to Facebook, as the model for Rate BU: "Me and some friends just saw it and were like 'wow, we could make this.'"

And last Friday, they did. Doody launched the site anonymously before the weekend -- by Monday, 1,160 users had joined. In order to avoid the legal complications Zuckerberg ultimately faced, Doody designed his site to be user generated -- those participating upload Facebook photos of themselves or others, which Doody claims are in the public domain.

Whether or not the site is legal is irrelevant to the women featured on the site, some of whom spoke with the Quad. Sophomore Casey Prusher said that "it feels like someone took my information. I'm unwillingly being looked at and possibly being defamed or disparaged on a site I don't condone."

The wider BU community grew concerned when the Washington Post covered the website's growing popularity, and on Monday the BU Student Union moved to release a statement against the website, reports the Daily Free Press. BU Junior and Union Director of City Affairs James Boggie told the Press that national coverage made Union condemnation of the site an urgent matter. Although the Union does not have the power to force Rate BU to shut down, Boggie and others hope that widespread disapproval will convince Doody to terminate the site himself.

Doody, however, plans on doing something else entirely. He told the Quad that expanding the site to include other colleges is a possibility.

What do you think of Rate BU and other such sites? Should they be banned from campus? Share your reactions in the comments section.

Comments

[aquariusinthemirror]

09:00 PM on 12/12/2010

You'd think somebody would have thought this up sooner. Anyway, this website is telling most of us what we already know: we are not the hottest person out there. We mentally do what this website does everyday; we look, compare, and judge people based on how good looking they are. I think we can all agree on that. So why is it that we get offended when a website advertises what we already know about ourselves and each other? We hate that its right. We hate how we AREN'T as hot. We hate how we need to come up with excuses for ourselves when we don't make the cut. Its our insecurities manifested in a website. The worst for which this site can be blamed is for telling us a truth that we don't want to hear. Here's some advice: you should stop criticizing the website and find the reason that you care in the first place.

[Ashley HansBarrientos]

10:40 PM on 12/10/2010

This should absolutely be banned!

[EuroJoJo]

04:00 AM on 12/09/2010

I bet everyone will love gawking at & making comments about the photo of Justin Doody's tiny penis that someone posted & tagged online.

[edgeninja]

03:35 AM on 12/09/2010

Guy's just using the site as an outlet for his insecurity over his last name. I'd sure that change that b!t(h in a hurry.

[Doctor Dave]

12:59 AM on 12/09/2010

LOL YOU DONT NEED A @BU.EDU EMAIL!!! JUST ADD @BU.EDU AT THE END OF YOUR EMAIL WHEN SIGNING UP! HOW SIMPLE IS THAT?

[David Melton]

05:27 PM on 12/08/2010

His name is doody! Ha!

[Craig Turpin]

04:00 PM on 12/08/2010

great stuff. can't wait to see RateKentState.

[Howard53545]

01:30 PM on 12/08/2010

Nothing wrong with it!!!

[runfellow]

09:42 AM on 12/08/2010

Dude should probably go look up what "public domain" is, as it has a pretty specific definition in this country and that isn't it. Have fun in court; next time, maybe consult a lawyer or something first.

[akwhitacre]

09:18 AM on 12/08/2010

I'd love to hear what Doody thinks public domain means. If he took Creative Commons-licensed photos from Flickr, then maybe. But even if that's the case, he has little ethical claim to re-posting photos of women in a context they didn't agree to. "Online" simply isn't synonymous with "public domain", and if god forbid one of these young women hurts herself, Doody will be paying off a lawsuit way bigger than his already-astronomical BU tuition.

[KingFool]

05:16 PM on 12/08/2010

Obviously you missed the part about "user generated". He didn't post a single photo.

[Pumpkin8009]

08:55 AM on 12/08/2010

While I would have no interest in going to the site, I also don't have any sympathy for those featured on it either. This idea that you can post your life on facebook and then expect privacy is fantasy. If you're upset about people commenting on your attractiveness, then don't put pictures of yourself online. I realize this is a radical idea.

[MG Metiva]

09:19 AM on 12/08/2010

I agree! Fanned and Faved!

[ClearHeatVision]

04:36 PM on 12/08/2010

Loved your comment. TRUTH. If you had time and were so inclined you should totally write a rebuttal article!!