Anonymous Community Question Inbox
Design a moderated messaging space where people can ask sensitive questions without inviting unrestricted anonymous contact.
The brief
Understand the problem
Background
Anonymity can help people ask honest questions about work, relationships, or identity. It can also remove accountability and make targeted abuse easier when messages arrive without consent.
User context
Leah joins a moderated early-career community. She wants to ask about negotiating pay without attaching the question to her public profile, and she only wants replies from members of that community.
Product problem
The product needs to protect the author's identity while limiting unsolicited messages, repeated targeting, and harmful responses.
Objective
Create an opt-in anonymous question and reply flow with strong audience and moderation controls.
What to design
Define the experience
Required experience
- Choose a community and intended audience
- Write a question and preview what identity details remain hidden
- Review moderated replies in a private inbox
- Mute, report, or close the question
Screens and states
- Community topic view
- Anonymous question composer
- Question detail and replies
- Moderation action
- Closed question state
Core user flow
Follow the critical path
- 01
Leah opens her verified career community
- 02
She writes a question and checks the anonymity summary
- 03
Replies arrive after automated and human moderation checks
- 04
She closes the thread once she has enough guidance
Product rules
Requirements and constraints
Requirements
- Only allow anonymous posting inside opted-in communities
- Prevent direct anonymous messages to arbitrary individuals
- Show authors what account signals moderators can access
- Rate-limit posting and replies without exposing internal enforcement rules
Constraints
- Anonymity does not apply to the moderation team
- Quoted replies must not reveal profile data
- Deleted content may be retained briefly for abuse investigations
Reality check
States worth considering
Finish line
What to deliver
- A responsive question and reply flow with moderation and closure states
- A concise policy explanation suitable for the composer
Optional direction
Visual resources
Use these as a starting constraint if you want one. They are not part of the required solution.