Riding another hobby horse

[stiles watson]

I should probably just keep my mouth shut, but...... I want to talk about "Private Messages" and emails. I personally have not used either to chastise anyone at any time, so I am NOT reacting.

The reason I would and have sent private messages or emails to other MOC members is that I did not care for the exchange to be shared on the forum. Maybe it was very personal or maybe it was a view contrary to the run of the thread and I preferred not to agitate and start a word war.

Whatever the reason, it was intended to be a Private Message, not a public one. If the content of that message were to be aired on the forum, I would feel violated and betrayed.

Maybe it is my years as a professional counselor that I feel confidentiality is somewhat sacred. What is between another and me will remain just between the two of us. In my opinion, it is a matter of integrity.

[jrgwdenner]

Thanks for sharing your wisdom, Stiles. Well said.

[Hemlockusa]

Very well written Stiles. You hit the nail on the head so to speak. John

[simonsrf]

Stiles,

I feel exactly the same way. There are times that I only care about the opinion of the person I am PM'ing....I don't feel like there is any need for justification, but if I say something to that person in the PM, I believe it should be kept private.

Thanks for stating the obvious, it needed to be said!

I for one, value your experience and your opinions!

[Parrothead]

Stiles, I agree with you wholeheartedly, however, I would like to add that on this forum I would hope PM's would not be used to chew someone out or make really negative remarks. And yes I have been on the receiving end and I didn't appreciate it. PM's should be to share some thought, not always in agreement necessarily, but in a civil manner. JMHO
Happy trails...............................

[Native Tex]

You know what they say, "the best way to loose friends is to talk politics or religion." I prefer to know someone really, really good before I do either.

[Ozzie]

PM's are supposed to be a good thing...as in you don't want to pull a thread off topic so you contact the person directly for more information, or you want to discuss something privately.
I agree that PM's should be considered confidential.
As an admin of a computer forum, PM's are widely used...and only shared with permission.

[Cat320]

I agree also.

A while back I screwed up and sent a PM to the wrong person. Nothing in it was personal, nasty or negative, I just wanted to add some information to a post I made on a specific thread. When I realized what had happened, I immediately sent a second PM (this time to the 'wrong' person on purpose), explained what had happened and apologized.