20 January 2015 
Matt Sisson, Projects and Membership Manager
You may have noticed that we offer the option for you to post ‘anonymously’ when you post on the discussion boards. To do this, reply to a post as normal, but before you click the ‘OK’ button, check the ‘Anonymous’ button in the bottom right hand corner first.
Now you know how to do it, how do you know WHEN you should do it? That’s where our anonymous posting guidelines come in, with the common reasons people often post anonymously answered with a 'No', 'Yes' and 'Maybe'.
NO: A bit shy?
Should you post anonymously if you’re new and you’re just a bit shy? No. Everyone was new once, and we’re a friendly bunch – no one will think worse of you for asking a silly question (It’s probably not as silly as you think it is). What’s more, there’s a good chance that other people are thinking it too, but just too shy to ask (yes, even shy-er than you…). If you’re unsure if it’s a silly question or not, try clicking the ‘archive’ tab or using the search tool to see if it (or something similar) has been asked before.
MAYBE: Commercially sensitive?
There’s an argument that anything commercially ‘sensitive’ should be anonymous. My careful use of inverted commas in that sentence should hopefully highlight that in reality, very few topics are sensitive enough to have a genuine commercial impact (giving ‘competitors’ an unfair advantage), especially as no suppliers can view the discussion boards (apart from the special SORP ones). If you could imagine picking up the phone, or emailing to discuss the issue with a known colleague at a different institution, then you can post it to the boards without anonymity.
YES: Reputational risk?
The only real reason you should need to post anonymously is if you’re discussing a particularly delicate issue that could potentially have reputational or legal implications if it was associated to your institution. I’m thinking here about things like frauds you may have suffered (which you’d like to warn others about – please do), or industrial or commercial legal disputes. If it’s the latter, you may prefer to ask someone within your own institution instead. Ask your manager if you’re unsure. If it’s about your manager, don’t post it on the boards…
Finally, if you’re ever unsure, please feel free to email Matt. He is always happy to discuss what your options are, or may even be able to post on your behalf.
