The Confessional

The Confessional

by Regina, Auste, Gabriela, and Jenna

The Confessional. The name itself is steeped in controversy. Is it a platform for free expression or a festering pit of inanity? It is unknown if Wilder Bowl LLC makes a profit from the notorious forum. When reaching out to the Confessional community for an answer the only response we received was “It’s … entertaining, duh.” (profanity omitted).  The current owner Shibo Xu bought the website for $750 in 2007, but the motive of this purchase is unclear as in many ways the Confessional serves as a public good to the Mountain Holyoke community. It is non excludable and once used it does not diminish other individuals potential use. And as noted, public goods are not profitable. The Confessional’s Facebook page states it’s mission as such: “A space to share thoughts, debate ideas and communicate...anonymously.” But has this mission been successful?

As a public good, the Confessional is in high demand with almost 3,500 pages filled with posts. Students will go on when they are off campus and access it from their cell phone if the internet is down. In some ways the Confessional has become more than a forum for debate. Amongst the numerous crush posts and angry rants a sort of free market has arisen. Towards the end of the semester numerous posts are dedicated to the sale of unwanted items. Graduating students looking to unload no longer need mini fridges and storage bins abound, as do students looking for a perhaps slightly more generous offer on their used textbooks. In this way the Confessional enables commerce that would be more difficult to facilitate in it’s absence and it has the convenience of advertising to the target market. Without the Confessional students would have to place advertisements in local papers, increasing their operational costs and diminishing their profitability.

The Confessional also facilitates another type of exchange: information. During October alone, there were over fifty posts about Mountain Day. While the President is the only one with complete information regarding Mountain Day, the information exchange facilitated by the Confessional is able to level the information inequality. On the other hand, as the number of posts increases regarding Mountain Day, the responses tend to be more agitated and obnoxious. Thus, the law of diminishing marginal utility holds true.

Also, students use the Confessional to seek advice, which can benefit some socially. However, in the anonymous nature of this forum asking for help can lead to responses that are malicious. This cyber bullying has a high social cost. Specific students may feel singled out for ridicule on the Confessional. There have been posts demanding the Confessional be deleted, as it is too costly to society in the eyes of some. Moreover, the Confessional has a high cost to students’ productivity in regards to their schoolwork. It is commonly used as a distraction, drastically decreasing a student’s utility.

Despite the high social costs that the Confessional creates, it is debatable whether or not taking down the website is a solution. If the website is removed, the likely hood of it popping up on a different domain is high, as many colleges have a Confessional equivalent. Because the Confessional and websites alike are the norm for campus’ it’s absence at Mount Holyoke would dually felt by the student populous.