Warning Label

If you choose to post a secret, understand that, in order for this project to work, anonymity is crucial. In case you didn't get that, let us say it again:

ANONYMITY IS CRUCIAL.

DO NOT identify yourself. We don't want to know who you are, and we will only post secrets that use aliases for anyone mentioned.

For instance, if you submit this:

Frank, I've loved you for eighteen years. Every time I hear the thunk of your wooden leg in the hall outside my office on the third floor of Dey, my heart skips a beat. I know you're devoted to your partner Tom, but I just had to tell someone. -- Ellen

we won't post it. If, however, you submit this:

Handsome pirate of my heart, I've loved you for eighteen years. Every time I hear the thunk of your wooden leg in the hall outside my office on the third floor of Dey, my heart skips a beat. I know you're devoted to your partner, but I just had to tell someone. -- Romance Language Prof Hurtin' for Romance

we probably will. However, it is UP TO YOU to make sure that identifying details are left out. In this case, it would probably be wisest to put:

Handsome pirate of my heart, I've loved you for eighteen years. Every time I hear your distinctive footsteps in the hall outside my office, my heart skips a beat. I know you're devoted to your partner, but I just had to tell someone. -- your brown-eyed girl

We won't post any secrets that aren't about the submitter.

This one time I knew this girl who told me that she was an obsessive fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer who was this major celebrity in the online fanfic circles, but couldn't let anyone know because she was a prep.

is not acceptable. However,

When you told me about your secret online life as the high priestess of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer fandom, I laughed at you and told everyone we knew. I was worse than a jerk, I was a hypocrite. -- the future Mrs. Rupert Giles

would be (Rupert Giles being a fictional character from Buffy and not, as far as we know, a person related to this university). If it's not your secret to tell, don't.

Please keep your secrets brief -- a (short) paragraph maximum will be lightly enforced.


The UNC-CH Secrets Project 2008 is not ...

• a forum for public discussion.

While our fervent hope is that it will generate public discussion, this is not the place for it. If you have a word of encouragement or empathy for someone who has submitted a secret, by all means comment with such. However, please do not assume that by submitting a secret a poster is soliciting advice. In fact, please assume the exact opposite.

• a means through which you can communicate with your friends, enemies, lovers or any combination of the above.
  

As previously stated, we cannot know what will be a tipoff to the people in your life that a secret is yours, but if we can recognize that this project is being used as a message board, we will disable comments. If you recognize someone's secret and want to talk to them about it, be courteous enough to do so in person. We highly support face-to-face communication, and there are several quaint coffee establishments within walking distance that would do nicely for such a meeting.

• an invitation to "out" people's secrets.
  

Naturally, much of the fascination with this project lies in the possibility that a secret belongs to someone you know. Speculation is inevitable -- we admit that we do it, too -- but in case you missed our catchphrase the first couple of times around, ANONYMITY IS CRUCIAL. Even though they are online, these secrets are still secrets if unattached to a source, and those who submit want to keep them that way. Please respect those wishes by not indicating that you think you know to whom the secret belongs. It discourages others from posting and besides, you might very well be mistaken.

Finally, there is an adult content warning for the site for a reason. People's secrets aren't always rated PG-13, and while it is up to our discretion to post what you have submitted, our aim is to censor as little as possible. Please take a look at the original Post Secret to get an idea of the variety of secrets people want to share. We are also keeping comments on secret posts open for the time being, in the hope that other people will want to engage in discussion and share their stories. If these comments become a forum for finger-pointing, outing the person with the secret, or hatred, they'll be disabled faster than you can say "Roy Williams".