Suggestions and FAQ
Giving feedback
Some suggestions for ensuring your feedback is constructive:
Be gentle. As long as you get the message across, there is no need to be harsh. Receiving even nicely-worded negative feedback can be difficult.Be specific. Provide as many details as you can (without deanonymizing yourself, should you wish to remain anonymous). Bad: “Your meetings are wasting people’s time.” Good: “When you arrange meetings, sometimes they are ineffective because there isn't a clear purpose and you don’t stop people from going off-topic.”Give positive feedback sometimes. Just as the recipient may need your feedback to change behavior that bothers you, they may not be aware of the good aspects of their behavior, and even if they are not blind to them you can encourage them further by giving explicit praise.Pick actionable things. Try to give feedback the recipient can act on.Don't abuse. It's easy to be mean when anonymity protects you. Remember that the goal is helping the recipient, not making them feel bad.
Receiving feedback
It can be scary to let the world tell you anything. Here are a few suggestions on receiving criticism:
Be explicit about what kind of feedback you’re interested in receiving. If there are specific topics you're most interested in, update the message on your profile page to reflect that.Try not to be defensive. Criticisms may sound like accusations, but they are merely pieces of information, brought to your attention for your consideration. Ask yourself: could this be true? You may accept or reject suggestions, but try to consider them in good faith first.Know what to disregard. Not everything that bothers someone else is an actual issue you should fix. Some things are simply a matter of taste; other times, a person might abuse the site to try to hurt you, or not recognize when a problem is within themselves.
Maintaining anonymity
Concerned about maintaining anonymity? Here are a few suggestions:
Make sure the Admonymous link you followed was probably seen by many other people. A link from a tweet or personal website was likely seen by many.Avoid referring to specific incidents that can identify you. If you refer to a specific event, make sure that other people were there who could also have seen the Admonymous link and given similar feedback.Be aware of your writing style. Your writing may have unique traits that would suggest to the reader that the message was written by you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Admonymous?
As a feedback-receiver: Admonymous provides you with a link through which you can receive anonymous feedback via a text box. The feedback you've received is visible only to you, when you are signed in.
As a feedback-giver: You can leave anonymous feedback for someone through their Admonymous page, assuming they've set up a page and shared the link.
Do I have to sign up to use the site?
No. You have to sign up if you want to get your own URL and receive feedback, but you can leave feedback for others without having an account.
Why do you ask me to sign in using my Google account?
This is done purely for authentication, and uses an external authentication through Google so we never get access to your Google credentials. By verifying that you have a real Google account and associating it with your Admonymous account, we discourage potential site abuse (one person signing up multiple times).
What happens to my data?
Your data is not sold or shared with any third party. You can also delete any individual feedback you've received, or delete your whole account.
Where should I put my Admonymous URL?
Anywhere it can be seen by many people who have some interaction with you. The goal is not only to announce your URL and give people the ability to give you feedback, but also to provide them with an assurance of anonymity, which is why the URL should be public. Consider posting the link on your personal website, including it in your email signature, or putting it in your Twitter bio.
I’m afraid people will abuse the site and use it to hurt me.
Putting yourself on the receiving end of anonymous feedback can certainly make you vulnerable. Read the suggestions for receiving feedback above.
I’m afraid of being identified.
See the suggestions for successfully maintaining anonymity above.
I don’t want people to tell me things anonymously!
That’s fine. If you like, you can still use the site to give feedback to others. If you want face-to-face feedback, simply ask for it. That's not what Admonymous is for.
What about giving positive feedback?
Yes! Admonymous means “anonymous admonition and admiration”. Don’t forget to admire!