Writing rules for an anonymous page (with a template you can copy)

Short answer. Keep the public rules short enough to fit on one phone screen, and put them on the form itself, above the text box. They need five things: what the page is for, what will not be published, what you may edit, how to get a post removed, and what "anonymous" means on this page. A template you can copy is at the end.

A confession page's rules are read by three different people, and each needs something different from them. The submitter needs to know what to send. The admin needs something to point to when declining a post. And the person who has been written about needs to know how to get it taken down. Most pages write for the first reader only, in a pinned post from two years ago, and then wonder why the rules make no difference.

This guide covers what the rules should contain, how to word them, and where to put them. A template follows at the end.

Why short rules work better than thorough ones

It is tempting to list every kind of content you can imagine refusing. Resist it. A submitter gives the rules a few seconds before typing. A list of twenty-five prohibitions is skipped entirely; a list of five is read.

The trick is to state principles a person can apply themselves, rather than cases. "Don't write about a person in a way that lets others work out who they are" covers full names, initials, nicknames, room numbers, car plates and "the tall guy who sits at the back of Dr Lim's Tuesday class" — none of which you would have thought to list.

Keep the long version for the admins. Your internal notes on edge cases can run to pages; the public rules should fit on one phone screen.

The five things every set of rules needs

1. What the page is for

One sentence. Who it serves and what belongs on it. This is what lets you decline an off-topic submission without anyone feeling singled out.

2. What will not be published

Lead with the rules that protect other people, because those are the ones that matter most and the ones submitters least expect:

• Identifiable people. No names, initials, photos, handles, phone numbers, plates, addresses or descriptions that point to one person — unless that person is a public figure being discussed for something they did publicly.
• Accusations. Claims that a specific person committed a crime, cheated, harassed someone or is unfit for their job do not belong on an anonymous page. They belong with the people who can investigate them.
• Sexual content about real people, and any sexual content involving minors.
• Hate. Attacks on people for their race, religion, nationality, gender, sexuality or disability.
• Threats and encouragement of self-harm.
• Advertising that has not been agreed with the admins.

Say plainly that the admins decide borderline cases and that their decision is final. Arguing about individual rejections in public is a poor use of everyone's time.

3. What you may change

If you edit submissions — fixing typos, removing a name, cutting a paragraph — say so. Some submitters assume every word will appear exactly as written, and some readers assume that it has. The honest positions are either "published as received or not at all" or "we may remove identifying details and will mark the post as edited". Choose one and hold to it.

4. How to get a post removed

This is the section most pages leave out, and it is the one that prevents the worst outcomes. Give a contact method that does not require the person to comment publicly, say who can ask (anyone who is identifiable in a post, and the person who wrote it), and say how quickly you respond. The full process is in How to handle a takedown request.

5. What "anonymous" means on this page

State precisely what you can and cannot see. If the form records nothing about the sender, say so. If the platform behind the form keeps technical logs, or if you would hand over what you hold in response to a court order, say that too. Promising absolute anonymity that you cannot deliver is worse than promising nothing. See Anonymous is not untraceable for the distinctions.

Wording that gets followed

Use "you", and write as you would speak. "Submissions containing personally identifiable information shall be rejected" is harder to absorb than "Don't name people. If we can tell who you mean, we won't post it."

Give the reason in a few words. "No names — the person can't reply, and you can be sued" is followed more often than "No names", because it gives people something to agree with.

Say what to do instead. A rule that only forbids leaves the submitter with a problem and nowhere to take it. "If someone has harassed you, the student affairs office and the police can act on it; we can't" is more useful than a bare refusal.

Avoid rules you will not enforce. Every rule you visibly ignore teaches readers that the others are optional too.

Where to put them

The only place rules reliably reach a submitter is on the form itself, above the text box. Everything else is supplementary:

• On the form — the short version, always visible, not behind a "read more".
• In the page's About section — the short version again, plus the removal contact.
• A pinned post — the long version, for people who look for it and for you to link to.
• In the reply to a removal request — the relevant rule, quoted.

If your form tool allows a required checkbox, "I have read the rules above" is worth adding. It does not make anyone read them, but it removes the claim that they were hidden.

Rules for the admins, too

The public rules bind submitters. A second, private set should bind the team:

• Admins do not guess at, discuss or reveal who wrote a submission.
• Admins do not publish their own submissions without a second admin approving them.
• An admin who knows the people involved in a submission hands it to someone else.
• Declined submissions are deleted on a schedule, not kept to be read for entertainment.
• A removal request from an identifiable person is acted on first and discussed afterwards.

Write these down when the team forms. They are much harder to introduce after someone has already broken one.

A template to adapt

Replace the bracketed parts, delete what does not apply, and keep it to one screen.

[Page name] — how this works

This is an unofficial page for [who it is for]. Send us [what belongs here]. We read everything before it is posted.

We won't post:

• anything that lets readers work out who a private person is — names, initials, photos, handles, numbers, or descriptions that fit only one person. They can't answer back, and you can be held responsible for what you write.
• accusations that someone broke the law or the rules. If something happened to you, [student affairs / counselling contact] and the police can act on it. We can't.
• sexual content about real people, hate towards any group, threats, or anything encouraging self-harm.
• ads we haven't agreed to.

We may remove identifying details or fix obvious typos. Edited posts are marked.

Want a post removed? If a post is about you, or you wrote it, message [contact] with the post number. We act within [24 hours] and we don't ask for a reason.

About anonymity: [We do not ask for or see your name, email or account. / Describe exactly what the form records.] If you include details that identify you, readers may still work out who you are.

The admins' decision on what gets posted is final.

Reviewing the rules

Read your rules again once a term with the list of everything you declined beside them. If one kind of submission keeps arriving and keeps being refused, the rule that covers it is not being seen or not being understood — and the fix is usually to move it higher or say it more plainly, not to add another rule.

Common questions

What should the rules of a confession page include?

Five things: one sentence on what the page is for; what will not be published, leading with the rules that protect other people; what the admins may change; how to get a post removed; and exactly what "anonymous" means on this page — what the form records and what you would hand over under a court order.

Where should a confession page put its rules?

On the form itself, above the text box — the only place rules reliably reach a submitter. Repeat the short version in the page's About section with the removal contact, keep the long version in a pinned post, and quote the relevant rule when replying to a removal request.

How long should the rules be?

Short enough to fit on one phone screen. A submitter gives the rules a few seconds: a list of twenty-five prohibitions is skipped, and a list of five is read. State principles a person can apply for themselves rather than cases, and keep the detailed notes on edge cases for the admins.

Should a confession page ban naming people?

Yes. No names, initials, photos, handles, phone numbers, plates, addresses or descriptions that point to one person, unless that person is a public figure being discussed for something they did publicly. Give the reason in a few words — the person cannot reply, and the writer can be held responsible — because a rule with a reason is followed more often.

Do the admins need rules of their own?

Yes, a private set written down when the team forms: do not guess at or reveal who wrote a submission; an admin's own submission needs a second admin's approval; an admin who knows the people involved hands it to someone else; declined submissions are deleted on a schedule; and a removal request is acted on first and discussed afterwards.