Thefacebook.com has arrived, and it has swept more than 890 students into its fold since SPU was added to the online networking database for college students on March 1.

Hundreds of college campuses are members of this online directory, which launched in February 2004.

"It's addictive," sophomore Lynsey Neal said. "I have one friend who just started on it two days ago, and I've seen her on there like ten times already checking it."

"I'm not sure how everyone found out about it; I had heard about it from friends at the University of Washington who were on it and they let me know we (SPU) were on it" said Lindsey Bain, a sophomore resident of Hill Hall.

"I can really see where it could pull you in if you didn't have other things that you were supposed to be doing," she said.

Facebook has digitalized college directories and made them more user-friendly and innovative. Students can post a profile, their interests, class schedules and even pictures for members of their school to view. A number of SPU students who are on facebook freely post their cell phone numbers and home addresses on the site. This information, however, is only available to SPU students.

Chris Hughes, co-founder and spokesperson for the facebook.com, described the Web site in an email interview.

"Well, the facebook is an online directory that connects people through social networks at colleges and universities," he said. "We wanted students to have control over what information they would like to provide."

And such a thing does not arrive by accident. In order for a school to be connected to facebook, a certain percentage of requests need to be made by current students.

"Our criteria for choosing which school to add are pretty simple. The more requests we receive from a school to be added to the network, the higher the likelihood we'll add it. SPU was in the top 60 schools as numbers of requests to be added, so you guys got added," Hughes said.

Another dimension of the site that members seem to enjoy is the ability to create personalized, on-line groups. Scrolling through an individual's SPU profile on facebook, you can see what groups they belong to. A sample of some of the groups SPU students have created are: "Could I Be More AWKWARD" which is "a safe zone for sharing your awkward moments with others like you." This group has 31 members.

Members of a group can post message for others as well as connect with similar individuals. Another SPU group is "Mean Girls Rule, Nice Girls Drool." The mean girls group was created for fans of the movie "Mean Girls,' who would like to emulate the main character in the movie, Regina.

When asked what groups she had joined, Bain said, "Hill's Finest, the private school one and the OC." Bain added, "I think it's fun!"

Another group is the "Cuddle Buddies -- the SPU Chapter," who say they just want to snuggle. According to the website that this group has identified with (cuddleparty.com), cuddling events are the ultimate means of expressing affection without sexualization.

But not all students have chosen to join the ever-expanding directory.

"I don't have enough self-discipline," sophomore Katie Ruggles said. "I'd be on it all the time."

And, she said, she already uses America Online Instant Messenger (AIM) to keep in touch with her friends, and that alone uses up her time.

"I don't really need another thing to be on," she said.

Sophomore Nick Kramer doesn't use AIM, and he hasn't joined facebook either.

"It's pursuing fake relationships, and it's not healthy," he said.

He also commented that many people use the service to contact people they knew in high school and present edited versions of themselves.

"It's a way for people to portray themselves in ways that they may not be," he said. "And it's just not worth my time."