Students may have noticed the “Reddit.com” advertisements chalked up on sidewalks recently and may be wondering what the site could be. Finding it is as easy as searching on Google, but there is still confusion about what it is.

The website’s creators call it an “engine for creating communities” which can best be described as a collection of online chat rooms and forums. The communities down into “subreddits.”

Oswego State junior Mark Wilson started a “subreddit” for Oswego State in August. The school’s online community on Reddit joins the likes of SUNY Binghamton and Syracuse University as members of the site. Many of the chat and forum topics focus on school athletics and college-life humor.

Wilson said he was drawn to the website because it provides users anonymity and relative freedom when posting.

“Anyone can join in and post whatever they like,” Wilson said.

Freedom from being censored or identified is what separates the website from other social media sites, he added.

Since its launch in August, 62 people have joined the Oswego State subreddit, which Wilson believes to be a good start. One of his reasons for creating the site was to help spread publicity for Oswego State. He is also in the middle of a competition, Reddit has launched a competition to see which college or university can create the largest subreddit community. Prizes will be awarded for the top three schools.

“If Oswego won the contest, the prize that I consider most important is the ‘admin’,” Wilson said. “It rewards Oswego with publicity; it gets our name out there.”