Rating site grates on nerves

A controversial website, Ratemash.com, has been widely criticised by students around the UK as well as by the University of Warwick Students’ Union (SU).

The website is being investigated by Facebook after reports of it uploading thousands of students’ Facebook profiles without their knowledge and encouraging users to rate the “hotness” of the profile pictures.

Ratemash publishes leaderboards of the top fifty positions at each institution and links them to the students’ Facebook profiles.

Holly Winter, a third-year Politics student, was featured under Warwick University’s category without any knowledge or consent from herself.

Ms Winter commented: “The day before I found out my picture was on Ratemash I had done a talk at Warwick’s Undergraduate Research celebration.

“I felt so frustrated the next day when I went from being recognised for my achievements, to being publicly rated on my appearance without my permission.

“The website is demeaning to the women and men at Warwick who are so much more than the pictures imply.“

Warwick SU has reacted to the “scumbag” website on Facebook.

“Needless to say, while it may have worked for Mark Zuckerberg while tapping away late at night in his dorm-room, we’d rather it didn’t work for site founder (and, presumably, chief scumbag) Michael Healy.”

In total 138 universities or colleges are on the website.

The Facebook profiles uploaded are available for the public to view and rate.

Other students’ unions from around the UK have also expressed their disapproval.

John Gusman, vice president for education at Bournemouth University’s SU, said: “It is an incredible invasion of privacy … It is unacceptable.”

The SU has issued advice for those who wish to remove their images from the website saying that students should contact the website directly.

In a recent interview with KillerStartups.com, Ratemash founder Michael Healy was asked what was the greatest thing about the website was: “There is no website that will be able to tell you where the hottest girls are going, guy-girl ratio and who is into you at your university.

On the website, Ratemash claims that it “sorts out your nightlife” by offering free club entrance and drinks as well as enabling you to “meet the people you fancy”.

In a reply to the Warwick SU status, Oliver Holmes, a fourth-year Chemistry student, was concerned with Warwick SU’s personal attack.

“Whoever manages the FB account for Warwick SU needs to realise that it’s not acceptable for them to use the SU page to make personal attacks at people.

“It’s unprofessional and unbecoming of an employee or sabbatical officer to do as such.

“This behaviour disgusts me and I expect a retraction of personal attacks.

“If you feel like you want to say something use your personal account [ya numpty].”