Topic: Must private messages be kept private?

[Les]

See here George :  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_message

Hmm, not exactly coherent, is it Les ? 

Personal message, often abbreviated as PM, is a private form of communication between different members on a platform. It is only seen and accessible by the userbut I think message andy'ss participating in the message.

A little editing might make it more useful, IMHO ...
** Phil.

Agreed, but it gives the general gist of the meaning, Personal message, " is a private form of communication", or am I reading it wrong?

[George]

I'm now wondering where the term 'private message' came from on here. The main button says 'messages'.

I do not know to which button you refer, George, but when I click on your name one of the options I am offered is : send personal message

The main button is on the main menu, together with help, search, etc. It simply says: messages.

Unless it's spelled out and agreed to, I don't accept that 'messages' or 'personal messages' are necessarily private messages. I must have thought it was in the public interest to publish Graeme's message. Either way, what's the big deal? Some folks are too easily offended.

[Les]

Either way, what's the big deal? Some folks are too easily offended.

No George, not offended, But you are betraying a members trust. If that means nothing to you, then hang up your Mod apron, You have no place here. Other than that, Take it up with Admin, Then let us know the rules.

[Stephen Lindsay]

All private messages are, in my opinion, confidential and this should not be breached without the author's consent. I also believe you have breached CH's confidentiality by naming him as sending particular messages.

[Peripatetic Phil]

And even your best mate Phil agrees with Les & Steven, so that may give you a clue as to which of us is more likely to be mistaken in our beliefs regarding confidentiality ...

** Phil.

[George]

Either way, what's the big deal? Some folks are too easily offended.

No George, not offended, But you are betraying a members trust. If that means nothing to you, then hang up your Mod apron, You have no place here. Other than that, Take it up with Admin, Then let us know the rules.

Here we go - the first personal attack (by Les). I urge members not to take Les' post as the green light for turning this thread into another big argument.

I doubt if Admin could be bothered with such trivia. If offence doesn't come into it, then why would anyone stop posting? Perhaps to buzz off to a lesser forum? Then they come back and blame me. Perhaps he wouldn't risk sending me another message, but to deprive everyone else of whatever ideas he has on BIR cooking - how can it make sense? It doesn't.

[George]

All private messages are, in my opinion, confidential...

Maybe in general, but messages on this forum are not described as 'private'.It was my mistake to use the word 'private' in the thread description. Neither did the message come with wording like 'private and confidential' or 'in the strictest confidence' so I don't accept your argument.

[Onions]

Some folks are too easily offended.

I can't believe you just said that. You do walk into these things don't you

[Les]

George, please read, and inwardly digest. (if that's possible)

 Personal messages (or PMs for short) are like posts, but instead of being posted in a topic they are sent to one or more members. Typically, personal messages are private correspondence and they are viewable only by the sender and intended recipients,

And if you think my thread is a personal attack on you, then delete it, makes no difference to me, I will have the same opinion of you anyway, 

[Peripatetic Phil]

I doubt if Admin could be bothered with such trivia.

Well, let's look at the Terms and Conditions, George (selectively sampled, to keep the length of this message within reasonable bounds) :

Terms and Conditions of Membership

3.  You will not post anything which is  ...  an invasion of personal privacy ...

I.e., you may not disclose something sent to you in confidence (e.g., a personal message)

5.  You will not post any copyright material, unless you are the copyright owner or you have written consent from the copyright owner

Copyright is vested in the sender of a personal message, not in its recipient.

9.  You will otherwise do nothing that is harmful to this Forum, compromises the integrity of this Forum, or otherwise brings this Forum into disrepute

No comment needed.

15.  Understand that when you post here  ... you may not remove your content without permission from the site owner.

Please note.

** Phil.