While some people view RateMyProfessors.com as a valuable tool for selecting college courses, others see it as an opportunity for anonymous public posting of venomouscomments.

RateMyProfessors.com, a free website that allows anyone to post his or her opinion about a college professor, contains ratings for over 745,000 professors nationwide, Moorpark College English Literature major Marlee Cannon, 18, is one of the few students who have never used the site.“I don’t like to do that to my professors,” Cannon said. “What does that accomplish?” She believes that some students post opinions out of “anger at their own stupidity. Maybe they failed the class, but it’s their own fault, not the teacher’s fault.”

The site was founded in 1999 by John Swapceinski, who graduated that same year from San Jose State University. Swapceinski also co-founded RateMyTeachers.com, RateMDs.com, LawyerRatingz.com and ClubRatingz.com. According to RateMyProfessors.com, it has more than 8 million users and the site’s traffic has grown between 150-200% each of the past six years. In March 2006, RateMyProfessors.com became free for all users when it announced the removal of the pay-per-feature”RMP Unlocked”.

Many students use the site before they register for classes each semester. “I’ve made most of my decisions based on RateMyProfessors.com,” said political science major Andrew Anzalone, 18, of Moorpark College.

“I use it as a reference to choose classes,” said Moorpark College business major Marcella Quick, 18. “I’ve seen some bad reviews where the writers must have been totally stupid. I appreciate it, but I don’t take it too seriously.”

Moorpark College Dean of Student Learning Tim McGrath sees the site as an opportunity for students to express themselves in a safe way. He feels the more opportunities for dialog, the better. But he does wish students would address problems with professors more directly.

“As a Dean, I wish that if students have issues they would come see me, or send me an email,” said Dean McGrath. “If a faculty member isn’t doing a good job, I want to work with them.