Sophomore Will Liddle clicks open Facebook after a long and trying day. He’s lost his favorite pencil, received an unfavorable math test back and has at least four hours of homework ahead of him. But as he reads the notification that Saratoga Compliments has posted something nice about him at the top of his page, he begins to smile.
“I was surprised and happy,” said Liddle about the compliment he received about his role as the starting quarterback for the varsity football team.
Founded as a personal account on Facebook by a student who prefers to remain anonymous, Saratoga Compliments launched last April. The idea sprang from the founder’s dream to spread positivity around school and was inspired by similar pages at other schools. The account allows students to post compliments about people at the school anonymously.
Students message the account and the account will then post it anonymously while tagging the person the compliment is directed at.
By remaining anonymous, the account gives people a chance to not feel embarrassed or awkward when they post compliments.
Thus far, the account has posted over 50 compliments.
During its beginning stages, the account had some difficulties with people messaging inappropriate or sarcastic “compliments” about others.
Some of the initial compliments were disguised insults that went onto the page. This resulted in a blow to the account’s reputation, and its credibility was called into question by some.
The page’s creator emphasized the account is intended for compliments, not sarcastic pranks. Liddle also saw some issues with how the page operated.
“Sometimes I can’t tell if people are just making fun of other people and just joking, but usually I see [Saratoga Compliments] has pretty sincere compliments,” said Liddle.
Since sarcasm is hard to distinguish over cyberspace, the creator of the account has asked everyone to respect the sanctity of the account and to not abuse it.
According to the page’s founder, it has grown since its conception and become more encouraging, adding, “The reason most people shy away from giving compliments is that they worry about being judged. Through this account they don’t have to worry about that.”
