There could be a creepy 50-year-old sitting in his boxers writing gossip about you, and you don’t even know it.

Gossip Web sites have been one of several unfortunate byproducts of the Internet in recent years, yielding many anonymous forums where anyone can vent frustrations, talk freely about anyone and anything or, much more rarely, work productively with others.

All of this done without any fear of repercussions.

But the perpetrators aren’t just your friendly, neighborhood sex offender; they’re your friends and colleagues.

The Internet is, in some ways, comparable to a nuclear warhead. In the hands of the right people, it is used responsibly, temperately and treated with respect.

However, when used for the wrong reasons, the results can be devastating, raining fire and brimstone on anyone hapless enough to be left in its wake.

So the comparison isn’t perfect, but the point remains true.

College atmospheres, unfortunately, seem to be much more prone to the frivolities of Internet slander.

I know I wasn’t the only one to yield a sigh of relief when, amongst economic crunches across the country, JuicyCampus shut down.

JuicyCampus, one such gossip Web site, had long monopolized on the business of unchecked libel and was often criticized for allowing profane and often defamatory content.

This content would range from the relatively harmless “Who’s the hottest?” threads to the much more heated discussions of sex, drugs and a colorful variety of VDs on various college campuses.

Of course, in the wake of this closure came multiple other gossip Web sites, all with the same intention: to profit from scandal and anonymity.

I’m pleased to say that Creighton reveals its own maturity in the distinct lack of such activities, but this does not mean that we should consider ourselves immune.

Indeed, on one such website, Creighton’s section is headlined with solicitation for the sale of fake IDs.

A quick scroll down reveals other squandered attempts to incite reactions from the student body.

Campuses can, of course, block such Web sites with relative ease, but the effect of such a move is negligible at best. As with anything, such measures can be circumvented with nearly humorous ease.

But blocking these Web sites from the students sidesteps the real problem colleges and universities across the nation are facing: respect.

More often, it seems, character is called into question, and the results of allegations can affect employment.

Creighton has shown a certain amount of civility by shying away from such pettiness, but many other big-name schools are not so lucky.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that our society’s sense of respect and dignity will be tested as fads like this become increasingly popular.

The Internet provides the perfect forum for those who wish to stir trouble behind a curtain of anonymity.

This temptation will threaten to seduce more and more students.

In the end, it will be those who refuse to succumb to the savagery of hurling insults and rumors that will find themselves on top.