Coming Soon - Anonymous Whistleblower

[Alex Snyder]

Jeff and I get numerous messages every year from people who want to post something but are afraid of losing their jobs. Sometimes we post on their behalf, but we prefer they post it themselves. So we have a new answer coming VERY SOON.

No name. No account. No login. Some things are just easier to say when no one knows who's saying them. We built it so that we would not know who you are, by design.

• ️ No IP. No logs. The intake runs in its own isolated environment with logging switched off at the permission level — not "we promise not to look," but there's nothing to look at. Nobody can see what was never collected.
• Files get scrubbed. Upload a document, and its hidden metadata (author, software, timestamps) never reaches us.
• We don't even read your words. Your submission is translated into a neutral summary before it reaches anyone here — the original text and files are processed and discarded, never stored. Your tone is wiped.
• No tracking number, on purpose. A reference you could look up later is also a thread back to you. So there isn't one.
• ⚙️ A little math to keep the bots out — a lightweight proof-of-work runs in your browser so the channel stays clean without ever fingerprinting you.

Built for the people who keep this industry honest.

 

[ryan.leslie]

Well, This is going to go one of two ways gentlemen.

Full circle moment: It reminds me of the pre-forum days when discussion was all comments on articles. There were many of us with nondescript handles for fear of espousing an opinion that did not meet a higher up's expectations. Shout outs to Lightnup!

Remember the push in the early days of the forums to lose the handle and "be a real person?" I'll always be grateful to Chip for supporting me in that effort.

 

[Alex Snyder]

This is why (plus some legal reasons) all of these anonymous threads will be placed in a moderation queue before going public.

97% of our traffic comes from unregistered users (lurkers in forum speak), and it always surprises me who they are and what they have to say behind the scenes.