anchor.diff:  email address to them. You will be told that this is going to happen.</p>
   </dd>
   
  -<dt id="nasty_spam">Will you send nasty, brutish spam to my email address? <a href="#nasty_spam">#</a> </dt>
  -<dd>Nope. After you sign up to <%= site_name %> we will only send you emails
  +<dt id="nasty_spam">Will you send spam to my email address? <a href="#nasty_spam">#</a> </dt>
  +<dd>No. After you sign up to <%= site_name %> we will only send you emails
   relating to a request you made, an email alert that you have signed up for,
   or for other reasons that you specifically authorise. We will never give or
   sell your email addresses to anyone else, unless we are obliged to by law, or
  
positive.code: <dd>
  <p>We publish your request on the Internet so that anybody can read it and
  make use of the information that you have found. We do not normally delete
  requests (<a href="#delete_requests">more details</a>).
  </p>
  <p>
  Your name is tangled up with your request, so has to be published as well.
  It is only fair, as we're going to publish the name of the civil servant who
  writes the response to your request.  Using your real name also helps people
  get in touch with you to assist you with your research or to campaign with you.
  </p>
  <p>By law, you must use your real name for the request to be a valid Freedom of
  Information request. See the next question for alternatives if you do not want
  to publish your full name.
  </p>
  </dd>
  
  <dt id="real_name">Can I make an FOI request using a pseudonym? <a href="#real_name">#</a> </dt>
  
  
  <dd>
  <p>Technically, you must use your real name for your request to be a valid Freedom of Information request in law. See this
  <a href="http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/freedom_of_information/detailed_specialist_guides/name_of_applicant_fop083_v1.pdf">guidance from the Information Commissioner</a> (January 2009).
  </p>
  
  <p>However, the same guidance also says it is good practice for the public
  authority to still consider a request made using an obvious pseudonym.
  You should refer to this if a public authority refuses a request because you
  used a pseudonym.</p>
  
  <p>Be careful though, even if the authority follows this good practice, the
  pseudonym will probably make it impossible for you to complain to the
  Information Commissioner later about the handling of your request.
  </p>
  
  <p>There are several good alternatives to using a pseudonym.</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>Use a different form of your name. The guidance says
  that "Mr Arthur Thomas Roberts" can make a valid request as "Arthur Roberts",
  "A. T. Roberts", or "Mr Roberts", but <strong>not</strong> as "Arthur" or "A.T.R.".
  </li>
  <li>Women may use their maiden name.</li>
  <li>In most cases, you may use any name by which you are "widely known and/or
  is regularly used".
  <li>Use the name of an organisation, the name of a company, the trading name of
  a company, or the trading name of a sole trader.
  <li>Ask someone else to make the request on your behalf.
  <li>You may, if you are really stuck, ask us to make the request on
  your behalf. Please <a href="/help/contact">contact us</a> with
  a good reason why you cannot make the request yourself and cannot
  ask a friend to. We don't have the resources to do this for everyone.
  </ul>
  
negative.code: 
  </dd>
  
  
  
  <dt id="full_address">They've asked for my postal address! <a href="#full_address">#</a> </dt>
  
  <dd>
  <p>If a public authority asks you for your full, physical address, reply to them saying
  that the email address you are using is sufficient.
  </p>
  
  
  <p>The Guidelines state that</p>
  <blockquote>
   If the requestor requests 
  information to be scanned or converted into PDF or JPE format and burned into 
  CD-ROM/DVD-ROM, etc., departments should accede to the request where possible.  
  </blockquote>
  </dd>
  
  
  <dt id="public_servant_takedown">I&rsquo;m a public servant - can you take down personal information about me? <a href="#public_servant_takedown">#</a> </dt>
  
  <dd>
  
  <p>Whilst we have a general presumption that more openness is better, we will
  consider requests to remove the names of public servants when it seems unlikely
  that the public interest will be harmed by doing so.</p>
  
  <p>This means that:
      <ul>
          <li>If you are a decision maker of any seniority, or if you are responding to
  a request, we will not normally remove your details from documents and
  emails sent by a public body. Accountability of decision-making is at the heart
  of good government.</li>
          <li>If you hold a junior, non-decision making post we will consider requests to
  remove your details. Removing these details is difficult for our volunteers to
  do, so please let us know why this really matters to you. If we agree to remove
  your details we will take reasonable steps to do so but in some cases may not
  be able to for technical reasons.</li>
      </ul>
  </p>
  </dd>
  
  
  
  </dl>
  
  <p><strong>Learn more</strong> from the help for <a href="/help/officers">Access to Information officers</a> --&gt;
  
  <div id="hash_link_padding"></div>
  
  