For some, sharing their dreams, fantasies, and perverse thoughts with people isn’t a problem. For others, there is Group Hug.

Group Hug (grouphug.us) is a Web site enabling people to anonymously confess secrets to anyone willing to read. Confessions range from the bizarre, the perverted, the totally innocent, to the downright disturbing.

For example, one person confesses, “I have really dirty thoughts about a few of my teachers.”

Another person describes a bad habit they have.

“I often laugh at physically and mentally handicapped people, even though I know it is clearly wrong. I just can’t break it, like a bad habit.”

Students of Northern reacted to the site in a positive way.

“I think it’s a great way for people to voice themselves to the world,” said Nick Giacinto, a sophomore elementary education major. “I thought some of the stuff on there was hilarious, some weird, and some depressing.”

Group Hug was started as a spare-time project in 2003 by Gabriel Jeffrey. The name chosen for the Web site is a reference to group therapy, which, in a sense, is what the Web site is about. Group Hug states, “the idea is for anyone to anonymously confess to anything. It actually feels kind of good to know that someone will read it. The purpose, if there is one, is to offer a little bit of relief from your conscience.”

Not all confessions make it to the Web site. There is a list of rules each confession must measure up to. Confessions cannot include full names, contact information or Web site addresses. They can’t include gratuitous vulgarity, and the participant’s confessions cannot be responses to other confessions on the site.

Students have found this to be a new hobby of theirs.

“I love this site,” said Jessica Mendrala, a sophomore art education major. “I like reading some of the stuff on here and realizing that there are a lot of people out there way more messed up than me. I’m going to be on this site all the time now.”