Wesleying Exclusive: Behind the ACB Sale

Yesterday we reported that Peter Frank ’12, noted mastermind behind the CollegeACB empire, has officially sold the obscenely popular site to an undisclosed party for an undisclosed figure.

But details in the blog announcement are sparse, and ACB users (you know who you are) are curious: what does this it all mean? I spoke with the entrepreneur himself about the deal—how it came about, what it means for the site, and what post-ACB life entails for the talented California native. Interview after the jump—and no, he won’t reveal the price.

So who bought the ACB? ACB speculation includes NewsCorp, the Winklevoss twins, Assange . . .

I can’t really say much about the buyer, just that it’s another entrepreneur, not a big company like NewsCorp or anything.

And the price?

I also can’t really say too much about price. It was a significant profit, but I’m certainly not going to be retiring as a result of the sale. I’ve been working on this deal for the past several months, just negotiating terms and stuff of that nature.

So any major changes to the site we should expect following this?

I can’t comment on changes; however, I can say that the new owner shares my goal of raising the level of discourse on the site. What does that mean? More sincere confessions and utilization of the space as a place where people can discuss topics that might otherwise be considered taboo, less personal attacks.

How do you (or the new owner) go about influencing the content on the ACB?

Well, I have deleted over 30,000 posts despite absolutely no legal obligation. Unlike our competitors, we (the site) don’t call for salacious gossip—in fact, most of our competitors’ only angle is that they’ll be more salacious, libelous, raunchy, than the next. I’ve responded to literally tens of thousands of user complaints for post removals and have complied with almost every one. It’s not an easy undertaking to change the mindset of the masses about how a site like this should be used. The vast majority are stuck in the “Juicycampus attitude” where they think that the only thing anonymity is good for is bashing others.

At its core, though, I always worked to maintain the essential identity of the site as an open anonymous forum where students dictated discussion. I probably could have done better in a lot of respects, but I did always try my best to run the site as ethically as possible.

So what are your future plans, now that you’ve sold the ACB?

I do have post-ACB plans.  I’ll probably take a very short break (just a week or two) from web development to focus on school, friends, and rugby. But I’m already brainstorming more sites and will hopefully get some off of the ground this semester.