Content Guidelines

Every account published on HonestRemarks is a statement of fact or professional opinion attributable to a named individual — even if that individual's name is not displayed publicly. This is not a space for venting frustration, settling scores, or sharing rumour.

Before you submit, ask yourself: could I sign my name to this and defend every word in a court of law? If the answer is no, revise or do not submit. Reviewers who submit false or misleading accounts may face legal liability independent of any action taken by HonestRemarks.

Accounts must meet all of the following criteria to be published:

• First-person and direct. You must have worked with, supervised, or been taught by the person directly. Accounts based on hearsay, reputation, or third-party reports are not permitted.
• Factual or reasonably held opinion. Accounts must describe specific, observable conduct or outcomes. Opinions are permitted where they are clearly expressed as opinions and grounded in direct experience.
• Professionally relevant. Accounts must relate to conduct in a professional or academic context — performance, reliability, collaboration, communication, or professional ethics. Personal life is out of scope.
• Proportionate. Criticism must be proportionate to what actually occurred. Isolated minor incidents should not be characterised as defining patterns unless you observed a genuine pattern.
• Written in good faith. Accounts must be submitted to inform, not to harm. If your primary motivation is to damage someone's career out of personal grievance rather than to inform prospective colleagues, your account will be rejected.

The following content will be rejected at the moderation stage or removed if discovered after publication:

These examples illustrate the difference between accounts that will be published and those that will be rejected. They are illustrative only and do not replace the full guidelines above.

Accounts that reference, imply, or appear to be motivated by any of the following characteristics — whether directly or by inference — will be rejected or removed. This applies regardless of whether the statement is framed as positive, neutral, or negative.

Reviewer identities are protected. We do not publish the name, email address, or any identifying information of a reviewer alongside their account. The person reviewed cannot find out who wrote about them through our platform.

However, anonymity is not absolute. We retain the following:

• Verified identity on file. Every reviewer has verified their professional credentials before submitting any account. This record is held securely and is not visible to the public or to the person reviewed.
• Legal disclosure. We will disclose reviewer identity in response to a valid court order, subpoena, or other binding legal process. We will notify the reviewer where we are legally permitted to do so.
• Internal moderation. Moderation staff can see which verified reviewer submitted an account for the purpose of enforcing these guidelines and maintaining editorial integrity.
• Reviewer role and institution. Accounts display the reviewer's role (e.g. "Professor", "Employer") and institution at the time of writing. This does not identify the reviewer but gives the account appropriate professional context.

All accounts go through human review before publication. We do not use automated publishing. The moderation process is as follows:

1. 1

   Submission

   Every account is submitted by a verified reviewer and enters a pending queue before it is visible to anyone.

2. 2

   Review

   Our moderation team reads the account in full and checks it against these guidelines, typically within 48 hours.

3. 3

   Decision

   Accounts that meet the guidelines are published. Those that do not are rejected with a reason provided to the reviewer.

4. 4

   Ongoing monitoring

   Published accounts can be flagged by any user. Flagged accounts are re-reviewed and removed if they are found to violate the guidelines.

5. 5

   Appeals

   Reviewers whose accounts are rejected may contact the moderation team to request reconsideration with additional context.

Accounts that have been published remain subject to ongoing community flagging. Any user can flag an account as inappropriate. Flagged accounts are reviewed within 48 hours and removed if they are found to violate these guidelines.

If you are the subject of an account and believe it violates these guidelines, you may file a formal dispute. To do so, you must first claim your profile.