Two OU students have created a Web site for students to sell last-minute OU sporting event tickets, upload and download old tests and participate in a message board.
Trae McNeely, University College freshman, and Shaun Ahuja, management information systems sophomore, have merged the concepts of eBay, Napster Inc. and Yahoo! chat rooms into a student Web site -- OUsharing.com.
McNeely and Ahuja said they have followed in the footsteps of Napster Inc. creator Shawn Fanning, being careful not to make the same mistakes he did.
Fanning had the concept of sharing music files among computers and created the Napster Web site while in college.
The Recording Industry Association of America brought a lawsuit against Napster, claiming 90 percent of all music downloaded via Napster's servers was pirated, according to the lawsuit.
Determined not to make the same mistake as Fanning, McNeely's idea of sharing files is geared toward downloading old test files.
"People can upload finals and tests to help other students," McNeely said.
McNeely said if students see a test before they enroll in a course, they might be able to comprehend what they are getting themselves into, or what professors expect from their students.
McNeely said the idea for OUsharing.com started out with a message board for students to talk about their classes or get help from other students.
The Web site is not affiliated with OU, but it is intended for the OU community.
McNeely said the cost of the Web site is currently coming out of his pocket. He is in the process of sending packets to some family-owned businesses in Norman that might like to advertise on OUsharing.com.
Rolando Castellanos, University College freshman, said he was looking for a computer when he saw an ad for the Web site.
Castellanos said he likes the site because if he cannot make it to an OU sporting event, he can go to OUsharing.com for a last minute chance to sell his tickets.
Having an auction Web site with the OU community provides quick buy and sell opportunities, without worrying about shipping and postal costs, McNeely said.
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