There’s an old saying that laughter is the best medicine. With that in mind, three men from France created FMyLife.com (FML), a Web site that lets people share with the online world the personal events that ruined their day. The purpose of the site is for users to vent about mishaps and then be able to eventually look back and laugh.
The first version of the Web site started out on an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) channel allowing a few friends to exchange FML stories. In January 2008, the channel evolved into a microblog. Through word of mouth, the concept of the blog spread. As interest increased, the creators decided to start posting stories in English.
The site’s popularity seemed to happen over night, and many CSUN students have become fascinated with FML.
Tracy Escobedo, a 19-year-old psychology major, said she found out about FML through friends who showed it to her while they were in class.
‘It’s funny, very entertaining, and it makes you feel better or worse about life,’ Escobedo said.
Escobedo was able to recall her favorite FML story, the one about a girl who walked around campus trying to change the music on her iTouch with her nose because she had mittens on. As she talks about the story she can’t seem to finish telling what it’s about because she’s laughing so hard.
Kenny Dacher, an18-year-old business management major, feels the same way about the site.
‘On FMyLife there are a bunch of people talking about how their life is pathetic. When I’m sad I go to the site and it always cheers me up,’ Dacher said.
Even students who haven’t been bitten by the FML bug admit to hearing about the site and viewing it once or twice.
Jimmy Galvan, a 23-year-old family and consumer sciences major, said he found out about the site from Facebook.com. Although Galvan doesn’t frequent the site, he said he’s read a few FML stories and thought they were hilarious.
The site is maintained by five voluntary administrators who identify themselves as: Frans, Alan, Pauline, Guillaume and Didi. Everyday hundreds of FML stories are received and this small team of five goes over each story, deciding whether or not to approve each one.
The FML site is very interactive. The moderation page displays submitted FML stories and readers can click on either yes or no buttons to cast a vote on whether or not stories are worthy enough to appear on the site.
FML even has a members only section where frequent users can create their own F***mylife account which enables them to create a profile, post comments on stories and have access to the FML newsletter.
FML has also become available on most mobile phones including the iPhone so readers can immediately view the site with the most recent stories.
Despite the fact the site has grown in popularity, there are still some students like A.J. Jaegle, a 19-year-old marketing major, who thinks FML is just a fad and doesn’t see the point to such a site.
‘I would never post on [FML]. I don’t need to broadcast my life to the world and I think that people posting FML’s on their Facebooks is a trend. It’s just more lingo, something like groovy. It’s in then out,’ Jaegle said.
If the FML site isn’t updated enough, or if readers are looking to read FML postings when they’re not sitting by their computers or blackberries, FML has recently partnered with Random House Publishing Group to compile a book of the most popular FML stories.
So visit FMyLife and have fun reading the woes of other people’s lives that could possibly make your own life seem so much better.
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