Karl, I think you are leaping to quite a lot of conclusions here which aren't really justified. This guy isn't asking for your home address and he's not asking you not to post, just to say what country you're in. Anyone can look at what you choose to put in your profile, it's public, so it's not snooping. Public perceptions and views on CSR are an interesting and legitimate research topic IMO. And anyway, in what way can it possibly be a bad thing for companies to want to engage with CSR?
A lot of people do use forums as a research tool, and personally I think that's better research than using multiple-choice questionnaires for this kind of thing - although personally I prefer to do my research face-to-face, but a PhD gives you the luxury of more time and space for that kind of thing.
Anyway Linden - I think you have some quite cynical views of CSR here. I think it is like anything - there are some companies that are cynical in their use of it, some that are trying but rather half-heartedly, some that are genuinely keen but mis-informed or struggling to find information, and some that are really embracing it.
I see quite a lot of companies that do "random acts of benevolence" wrt their local community, but do not really seem to assess the actual impact of their business on the local community. That is quite a big ask and takes a brave set of people to really engage with it.
Finally I would like to add that I'd much prefer to do business with companies that are really addressing CSR but it's quite hard for a consumer to get information about this stuff. Ethical consumer magazine does quite a good job of it though and I keep thinking I should subscribe.
Good luck with the research and please keep the debate going
