Video: Marysville School District cracking down on gossip web site

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MARYSVILLE, Wash. - The Marysville School District is cracking down on a Web site where students swap gossip about each other. Some parents complained, saying certain kids were being targeted. 

The school district posted a letter on their Web site, alerting parents to the steps they are taking to block access to the gossip Web site which they believe has been mean, vicious and hurtful to several Marysville Pilchuck High School students. 

The Web site, which KING is not naming, allows students to anonymously post information about fellow students and rate them on their personality, looks, even sexual habits. 

A search on the site Friday morning brought up a lot of derogatory information and potentially libelous information.  Roughly 140 students from the Marysville area signed up. 

The district says in its letter this is no small matter, that a couple students have been teased at school because of the site and are afraid to come to school. 

The Marysville District has blocked access on district computers and is monitoring activity. 

The school district's assistant superintendent tells the Everett Herald it will take disciplinary action against any student it can prove put something on the site which hurts another student, calling it bullying, harassment and intimidation. 

The creator of the gossip Web site, however, disagrees. 

"Some of the gossip is really constructive and there is some really great stuff on there," said Elizabeth Bloch, Web site creator. People are just discussing events in their lives - that's when it's constructive.  It's not constructive when people lie." 

Bloch says gossip is a healthy thing and her site has tools in place to eliminate malicious material. 

"We are all about getting the truth out and sometime the truth hurts.  Sometimes the truth isn't the nicest thing in the world, but if something is a lie, we want the people to go and vote and decide.  If the gossip is a lie, then it subsequently is voted off the site," said Bloch. 

The Marysville School District says it will discipline students if it can prove that one posted something about another on this Web site, although it's unclear exactly how they'll track down that information. Bloch says she will not provide any account information to the Marysville School District.