For students with questions on topics ranging from local restaurants and organizations to lascivious incidents in ISU history, a new Web site could offer hours of reading.

Rofflehaus.com is a new Web site that provides ISU students a guide on how to live in Ames. It also allows students to chip in with their own ideas and opinions.

Keith Twombley, administrator for Rofflehaus.com, which was started in late July, said the site should make adjusting to life in Ames easier for students new to the area.

“Imagine being a new student not from the Midwest,” said Twombley, senior in computer science. “Instead of sitting in your dorm room bored all the time, you could look up something of interest to you on the Web site and get out and do something.”

He said Rofflehaus.com, a type of site called a wiki, allows anyone to not only access the information on the site but also edit or add to any page.

“There’s around 5,000 pages on the site, and each one represents something someone has written about,” Twombley said.

The site contains pages about everything from the Ames night life to figuring out the CyRide bus system. Twombley said because anyone can edit any of the pages, he can’t guarantee the accuracy of all of the site’s content.

“I’m sure a lot of it’s biased, and I’m sure some of it’s wrong,” he said. “The idea is, though, that as time goes on the site just gets better. Everyone’s opinion is as valid as anyone else’s.”

Twombley said he’s happy with the following the site has attracted.

“It looks like the site took off,” he said. “We have a dedicated core of people who like to update it.”

Robert McMahon, senior in mechanical engineering, said he has been using the site for the last month and has made contributions to the site’s content.

“It’s something different as far as Web sites go because it’s not really about anything specific,” McMahon said. “It’s got a lot of general topics good for new students like how to deal with landlords or how to get to the bus on time.”

He said although new students may find the site especially useful, students who have gone to Iowa State for years can still learn something new.

“It’s a nice resource for all students,” McMahon said. “There’s nothing else like it, especially for small college towns.”

Twombley said he helped create the site to meet the demand of his fellow students.

“For the longest time, people had been saying we should have a Web site where we can write down everything about Iowa State,” he said. “This is that opportunity.”