When I did my school research, apart from the ubiquitous U.S. News ranking and other college review books, I referred to another source: CollegeACB.
Yes, I did use the infamous college message board for my school search—and for good reasons.
I believe that CollegeACB, as nasty as it as it can be, allowed me to peek into the inner thoughts of Duke’s students—who, if I were to meet face to face, would be more cautious and thus less honest about what they said.
After a two year run, however, CollegeACB ceased to exist as its original form.
This January, Peter Frank, its owner, announced that he was selling his stake, and that new managers would take over control of the site soon. The transition was carried out during the summer, when Blipdar, CollegeACB’s successor, was launched.
For a site that caused much controversy not just on Duke's campus but throughout the nation, CollegeACB’s rebirth was met with surprisingly muted reaction. Some, like sophomore Cathy Thompson, didn’t even know the site had changed.
“I guess it’s because I’ve stopped coming to the site since it’d become so negative. But I’m not the only one. All of my friends stopped using it a while ago,” Thompson said. “This is a good thing. ACB is so bad that I’m glad people have stopped using it.”
For those who have tried using Blipdar, the change brought much frustration. Blipdar is not as user-friendly as CollegeACB, said sophomore Matt Darlow.
“For a company that supposedly invested a hefty sum of money, you’d think they’ll do a better job,” Darlow said. “The interface sucks, the site keeps crashing. There are so many issues with [Blipdar] that it’s just plain unuseable.”
Blipdar may never enjoy the popularity CollegeACB once commanded, many students believe.
“Even if [Blipdar’s management] get their acts together, it is too late,” said junior Alison Walker. “The site was heavily criticized to begin with, and now with the lousy interface and technical issues, whoever used to use the site will leave and never come back again.”
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