One of my favourite things to do online is perusing the IndieWeb. It's fun, and I've been able to discover a tonne of interesting people along the way. But every now and then, I come across someone who has published their salary history on their site.At first, I thought this was a great idea. It feels transparent, and it theoretically gives people an idea of what they could or should be earning in a particular field. But as I've discovered more people doing this (for the record, I've only seen it a handful of times), a pattern seems to have emerged that makes me think it might actually have the opposite effect.Before we go any further, I want to state for the record that I have nothing against people publishing their salary. If you want to do it, that's entirely your call. Personally, I've decided not to post it here, but I am open about it - if you want to know what I earn, email me and I'll gladly tell you. Discussing pay here in the UK isn't as taboo as in other parts of the world, either. We actually have legislation in place that allows us to talk about our salaries with co-workers.So what's my concern?A double-edged swordOf the handful of times I've seen people sharing their salary history, they are always very high. For context, a six-figure (£100,000) salary in the UK puts you in the top 4% of earners in the country. This is where my concern starts - we only ever see these high outliers, so the sample size is incredibly skewed. Nobody is rushing to publish their £25,000 salary history, which means the curmudgeon in me can't help but feel that these pages can sometimes read more like a humble brag than genuine advocacy, even if the author's intent was entirely pure.For the reader, this can be deflating, rather than empowering. A developer earning a perfectly respectable £50k (which already puts them in the top 15% of UK earners) might look at Jane Smith earning £105k and think, "Jesus, I'm doing terribly." But salary is highly subjective. It depends on where you live, the company you work for, the unique responsibilities of your role, what your peers earn, how hard you negotiate, and how supportive your manager is. When you strip all that context away and just publish a high number, what is the reader supposed to do with it? If our developer goes to their manager and asks for a 100% pay rise because they saw Jane Smith online earning £105k, they're going to be laughed out of the room. Because, without context, the raw numbers are useless.I'm all for paying people the maximum amount possible for good work, but unfortunately, we live in a world where many organisations want to pay their staff the minimum they can get away with. So what's the alternative?I don't know what the perfect answer is, but I don't think it's telling people to stop sharing. Transparency is important, and it's severely lacking in the corporate world. Perhaps the solution is context? If you feel comfortable publishing your salary, maybe add a disclaimer explaining the unique circumstances behind it, stressing that it's a record of your personal journey, not an industry target or a standard benchmark.Or, maybe just ignore everything I've said in this post, as who am I to tell you what to do with your site. 🙃I've thought about adding a salary page to this site many times, but I've always held off. Honestly, I think I'm grossly overpaid for what I do, especially compared to roles like nurses, police officers, or members of the armed forces. I'm incredibly grateful for it, and I've worked hard to get here, but I don't want to add to the noise.If you publish your salary on your site, more power to you. But it's worth considering how that number might be perceived by the people reading it, and whether it's truly helping them or just making them feel left behind. Thanks for reading this post via RSS. RSS is ace, and so are you. ❤️ You can reply to this post by email, or leave a comment.