MS Forms Feature Request - Options to Modify the "Hello" welcome statement

[JennChem]

Hello,

Our team has been using MS Forms to successfully deliver assessments to large online classes (1200+ students). Forms has provided our class with a significant amount of flexibility in data collection/processing and is the clear front runner for what we need to quickly/easily/reliably deliver our content.

However, there is currently one aspect of Forms that is causing my team to reconsider its usage. The issue surrounds equity, diversity, and inclusion and how forms currently handles the welcome messages when the "record name" feature is turned on.

This feature has to do with the ability (or lack there of) to adjust the welcome message that is displayed to folks on login to a form that is set to record name/email. For a user group of our size (1200+) we absolutely need to have the name/email of participants recorded. However,  we have come to find that Forms is pulling the first name for folks from a system that we have been told, cannot be integrated with our existing systems to draw preferred names (like Teams and other Office 365 products can). While I understand that integrating a variety of systems to allow this to occur is no small task...I wondered if it would be possible to implement something into Forms in the meantime:

Feature Request Options:

1. Would it be possible to add an option to record name/email, but give the form owner the option to NOT display the form welcome message?

2. Would it be possible to have the welcome message instead call up/display the "email" variable that has been recorded in the welcome message INSTEAD of Name?

Either of these options would greatly improve our options for equity, diversity, and inclusion within our forms and class....and I'm hopeful that they would be more easily implemented on the short term.

Again, we have been very pleased with forms and what it has been able to provide for our large class assessments/surveys but would GREATLY appreciate some flexibility in the welcome message to folks are not greeting with incorrect names.

Cheers,
Jenn

[#2]

This update is much needed! Thanks for making the request

[#3]

how ironic that when I log into the microsoft account to be able to comment on this that my name is incorrect! Much needed!

[#4]

@JennChem 

Thank you Dal Chemistry and the Dal Queer Faculty & Staff Caucus for pushing for this much needed change. I vote in full support and promote this initiative across all my contacts.

[#5]

this needs to be changed to people can use their preferred names and pronouns@Marion_Brown 

[#6]

Preferred names not being able to be used is outing people not in a good way. If we are serious about moving towards a progressive society this needs to get done. There are already to many complications in the lives of diversely gendered people to add one more.

[#7]

@Michael_Parsons 

Agreed.

[#8]

I'd be very happy to see these changes.

[#9]

I completely support the suggested changes, so necessary if our world is to be truly inclusive, diverse, acccepting and just.

[#10]

Much needed to reduce discrimination and 'outing' people. Microsoft, please take this step to work toward justice, fairness, privacy, and inclusion.

[#11]

As faculty, a social worker, and a member of the 2SLGBTQIA community, I fully support this request.

[#12]

I fully support these changes, as well! These seem to be reasonable, short-term fixes to broader issues around systems supporting "preferred" name features and other practices that promote equity and inclusion. Thanks, @JennChem!

[#13]

I would like to mention that when using the form in another language, the salutation may appear outright rude.