A controversial gossip website used by students at universities and schools has closed down.
LittleGossip had a whole section dedicated to Oxford University, allowing anonymous users to spread rumours about people’s looks, sex lives and drug habits.
Exeter College had one of the most active message boards, with personal posts being written about several of its members.
One student was described as a “really lovely girl. Fucks with people’s heads though” while another was branded the “biggest virgin”.
Though not everyone was joining in, another member of the group posted the following, which got thirty-four likes before the website ceased operation:
“Hurt people hurt and it’s clear that people posting shite here have taken a punch to their fragile and insecure emotions.
“Remember you’re the only version of you that will ever exist, don’t let the jealous and obsessed get you down.”
Another anonymous user on the Exeter College message board said of Adolf Hitler, the military and political leader who launched World War Two and bears responsibility for the deaths of millions, “Bit of a dick to be honest.”
LittleGossip, created by web developers in Belize, had been pressurised by schools to hide its most offensive content. Several leading private schools, including Tormead School in Guildford and James Allen Girls in London, were forced to ban the website back in December.
John Carr, member of the executive board of the UK Council for Internet Safety, told the BBC that though the site’s content was “very distressing”, there was nothing illegal about the site in general and thus they could not take legal action to close it down. “It’s essentially about the abuse of anonymity and allowing people to hide behind cloaks to say horrible things about people,” he commented.
In a statement on their homepage, Little Gossip blamed a “minority of irresponsible people” for continuing to abuse the site.
