Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Racist domain name upsets Facebook users
By Linsey Isaacs
Hilltop, Howard U.
May 06, 2009

The popular social networking site Facebook has a new domain this week, one that has caused a stir among its users.

After an abundance of Facebook statuses referring to the popular site called 'Niggabook', junior marketing major Vance Lewis did his own research to follow up on the subject.

Lewis found that a new Web site domain brought users straight to Facebook's homepage, known as 'niggabook.com.'

"I was mind-blown that something as horrendous as that could exist," he said. "What's more mind-blowing to me is how it hasn’t been shutdown yet."

According to GoogleTrends, the search for the domain name was at its peak Monday evening around 10 p.m. The Web site has been gaining popularity since, although no one knows its purpose. As of early Wednesday, the site was taken down and has no connection to Facebook.

"I don’t understand why someone made that link," said senior economics major Jared Gregory. "Even though a white person created Facebook, it's really diverse. I don’t see any type of logic behind making it."

The domain has been registered at GoDaddy.com since August, with the personal information of the registrar available to the public. The registrar, who is listed in Connecticut, was not available to speak with The Hilltop as of press time. It has not been confirmed whether he created the domain or his intentions for the domain.

The site, which is only a link to Facebook's homepage and allows no further navigation, could be a hoax. It is speculated that its purpose is to steal users login information; however, if you are already logged into Facebook, the new domain won't require you to re-submit your information.

"I think someone on the Facebook staff should look into it and get rid of it quickly," said junior music composition Jonathan Bingham.

'Niggabook.com' has no affiliation with Facebook, whose developers were not available to comment. It still hasn't stopped some individuals from deactivating their accounts and calling the site "racist."

"It was an easy decision; there is no need for me to keep supporting something that seems racist," said Dawan Parker, a junior history major. "It was out of disgust that I deleted it."

Students are having mixed emotions after learning about the domain.

"Well, I'm not outraged because I feel as though someone thought it was okay to create the page and knowing my black friends, it was probably a bored college student," said senior psychology major Marlisa Jennings. "I feel like personal attacks on character are the only thing that I could truly be outraged over."

The word 'nigga' itself, which has been under ongoing scrutiny, is the least of some worries.

"We use the word then get all upset when things go left," said junior television major Trey Brown. "Now there's a generation of whites who take it as a joke or think its cool to use the word, from corporate to computer technicians who make up websites like Facebook."

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