Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time on Admit while waiting to hear back from schools I’ve applied to. Overall, I think the community here is really lively. I genuinely appreciate the support people try to give one another. 

That said, I’ve also noticed a growing amount of toxicity in the comments. For example, on the UCSF forum a few days ago, someone shared their first acceptance. In response, an anonymous user commented, “Who here thinks XXX is a liar?” and even said they hoped the person would get hit with an academic dishonesty flag. Someone else asked for screenshots as “evidence.” That kind of reaction was extremely rude and uncalled for. While we’re all anxious waiting for decisions, that does not justify putting someone else down. 

Additionally, some posts here seem to be driven more by spite and gossip than by good intentions. There is a post that effectively doxxes another applicant. I can easily look up the person based on what the comments posted. There are a lot of mean-spirited comments. Some people have gone as far as posting on the her social media accounts. This crosses a line into harassment and cyberbully, which are not okay, regardless of how someone feels about another person. 

I understand the stress, the anxiety, and the urge to crash out during this process. I love the support we all try to give each other. However, the toxicity, doxxing, and potential for cyberbullying need to stop. 

I believe many of these issues could be addressed if there were better ways to hold users accountable. One solution I would suggest is adding a report button for individual comments and posts. Even in an anonymous space, we should still be responsible for what we say. We are, after all, commenting on a public forum.