Abby Lee

I posted five questions on a www.RateMyProfessors.com forum and I also made a group on www.facebook.com and posted the same questions on there. I received two responses from users on RateMyProfessors.com. One response I received was rude and unnecessary. The other response was somewhat helpful but she didn't elaborate on her answers. Twenty-one people joined my facebook group, however only three people answered my questions. I found the questions on facebook were answered very clearly with a lot of detail and a variety of opinions. The URL of my facebook group is http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=143991068517 and the URL of my forum on RateMyProfessors.com is http://ratemyprofessors.com/jive/vodka/viewThread.jsp?forum=2&thread=40855.

I have made several observations about my online community. I have come to the conclusion that RMP is a very hostile environment. The people that access this web community are mainly pissed off college students. It is more likely for a college student to rate their professor based on a bad opinion than give the professor a positive rating. Most of the users main purpose is to log on and write bad things about their professors then leave. While viewing the forums I read very mean and hateful things that several of the users were posting.

Another observation I made is that many people don't get on RMP on a regular basis to talk and get to know others. They usually just go to the site and look up their professors and leave. After all, you don't have to be a member of the web community to access the ratings of your professors. The main use of RMP is during the end of college semesters when college students are trying to plan their schedules for the following semester.