As many of Harriton’s Facebook addicts have noticed, Harriton Compliments is up and running for the second year in a row. The reemergence of Harriton’s favorite Facebook page and mystery has led to lots of excitement. The mission of the Harriton Compliments account is to take submitted compliments and messages and post them anonymously to put a smile of the lucky receiver’s face. This account was created in the winter of last year. Many students feared that the end of last year would be the end of the page when we didn’t see post during the close of the school year and throughout the summer, but as of October 9^th, we have seen the uplifting statuses all over Harriton students’ Facebook walls. The Harriton Banner was able to talk with the student coordinating this page to get his/her personal views and messages to you!

If you are interested in submitting a compliment, send a friend request to ‘Harriton Compliments’ and send a message to him/her with what you would like posted. If you have any questions about the process feel free to message Harriton Compliments or The Harriton Banner Staff and we will direct you to the proper location.

How did you come to the idea to start Harriton Compliments?

Last year, I had heard and seen a bunch of other schools/colleges like Drexel starting compliment pages, and I figured it would be nice for Harriton to have one!

How often do you check submissions for Harriton Compliments?

Last year I would try and check every day, and at least post a couple. However, if I were caught up in schoolwork, I would forget. This year, I am trying to be more consistent and post at least some every day after school. Don’t take it personally if you send one in and don’t see it right away!

Why do you want to keep your identity a secret?

I initially wanted to keep it secret because I wanted people to have full confidence when submitting compliments. People might not feel comfortable submitting a compliment if they knew who I was. In normal circumstances, they might not want a specific person knowing what they send in. I keep everything anonymous, because some people put their trust in me when writing a compliment, and I want to keep that trust.

Another unforeseen reason why I continue my anonymity is because of the backlash that I get. For some reason, there are people who are REALLY opposed to this page, which I don’t entirely get, yet are still friends with me on Facebook. Honestly, if you’re truly bothered by this page you should just unfriend me! Trust me, I don’t keep track at all and won’t be offended.

Why do you think it’s important to have something like Harriton Compliments at our school?

I started this page because as cheesy as it is, nothing feels better than a compliment. The main purpose for this page is so that people who may be too shy to give a compliment to a stranger can post it here. Also, everyone complains about Harriton lacking school spirit, and I thought this might be a good way to boost school spirit by helping people to feel good about themselves.

When you started Harriton Compliments, did you think it would grow so big?

Not to sound arrogant, but yeah, I did expect it to grow big! I felt like everyone would be on board with it, so why wouldn’t it become popular?

Was there any negative feedback from starting this page?

Yeah, no matter what you do there is always going to be someone who doesn’t like it. I’ve heard people say this page is dumb and cheesy, but I don’t think there is anything dumb about making people feel good about themselves. It is definitely cheesy though…but I’m a cheesy person so who cares.

I don’t really listen to those comments because I’ve heard more positive feedback then negative feedback. Everyone needs to be a little cheesy once in a while, and for me, it’s all the time.

Do you intend to keep Harriton Compliments running throughout this year?

I have full intentions of continuing the page throughout the whole year though, but it may become more inconsistent as the year goes on, so we will see what happens.

How do you censor what submissions you post? Do you get really inappropriate/rude submissions?

Here’s the thing about the screening. When I started this page, I absolutely banned all forms of jokes because I wanted it to be taken seriously, and I felt that I wouldn’t communicate that by joking. As people kept sticking to the purpose though, I relaxed with screening submissions.

If I don’t post your compliment, 9/10 times it is because it got lost in the shuffle of messages. I still haven’t figured out an efficient way of navigating between messages and the wall, so things get a little cluttered.

The only time I would screen is if it was blatant cyberbullying. You’ll be happy to know that I haven’t seen anything malicious, and I hope to never receive one about anyone else.

So yeah, if I don’t post yours within a week of submission, please message me again and it will be moved to the top!

Is there anything you want to say to the students who participate on your Facebook page?

All I have to say is keep the submissions coming! Oh, I guess something I want to add is please don’t get frustrated if I’m not on a lot. I do have another real account I have to be on for homework collaboration and whatnot. Keep in mind I’m a real person!! Also, I won’t post submissions if you write them about yourself.