With respect to Susan, the previous reviewer, and without taking anything from the message she's sending about the use of such sites, formspring.me does have an abuse contact address and it's plainly displayed. It also has instructions for blocking people who have upset you in any way, and accepting anonymous messages is optional, not mandatory. I leave the debate over how much responsibility a parent should take, to others. I'm not a parent, I'm not qualified for that one.

As to the site itself, the idea is to allow people to ask and answer questions of each other. People may be anonymous, or not, or just ask or answer their friends. Abandoning all sense of security is optional, but if you do then you will get messages from anonymous and potentially unpleasant people. It's your call, as far as I can tell.

The site is becoming very popular, with something like 7 million hits a month or more, and although it would be cool to be an adult there and anonymously find your boss and ask him why he's such a prat, chances are that it's inhabited by teenagers who, as science tells us, haven't got fully-developed brains yet.

Virtual Reality, whether entered by avatar or text or video, is subject to different rules, different morality and different expectations than the Real World. Take a trip out of the Real World by all means, but don't expect Real World mores to apply once you're there. I guess if they did, then Virtual and Real worlds would become indistinguishable, and some of us would be very sad about that.

A similar project may be found here:
http://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/www.anybodyoutthere.com

Formspring is another website of concern. While on the surface it seems like a fun question and answer site, there is way too much bullying on the site. However, pressure on Formspring recently has caused them to admit bullying was a problem and to put in stronger filters and monitoring. A year ago (as an advocate against cyberbullying) I would have given it two stars (not good but certainly better than hate sites like Topix), but with the improvements I give it three stars. When people act human on Formspring it does have its merits at times. I will warn other parents and grandparents out there, a lot of kids use the site and it has limited appeal to adults.

This website promotes cyber bullying doesnt let you know who is saying these cruel and inhuman things about another. Mydaughter is a victem of this at this time. Children feel they have no way out but suicide when they are a victim of the cyberbullying. Please help me I would like a number for whom I can call and report.

Votes (1)  •  Comments (1)  •  Link to this review

Heather S. You should go to http://www.formspring.com/ as that site has more information on how to contact the website owners. Here is the info on who registered the site
http://www.ip-adress.com/whois/www.formspring.com

3/31/10  •  Votes (0)

The law of the land should apply to the internet. I do not understand why so much bullying and libel are allowed to occur. In most states cyberbullying is now illegal. Even Formspring's CEO has admitted it is a problem and says he wants to do more. For now that site needs a lot of work, a lot.