i am curious what a larger number of people think about posting peoples pms for all to read...

[MADem]

36. Well, let's assume I wrote you one of those love letters, using DUMail.

And then, later, I fell out of love with you and started consorting with another DU member and treating you poorly and saying dreadful things about you as a person. Wouldn't you perhaps be motivated to wave those love letters like a bloody shirt, as proof of a previous opinion and evidence of an agenda?

I take your point; I realize that most people don't like having their quieter conversations thrust into the public square, but I do think that the publication of an off-forum/off-group (but not off-board) conversation that doesn't match what people are saying publicly is instructive, particularly when trying to determine the veracity of an individual.

Example--a person declares, on this board, that they never would say "X" about so-and-so. Someone else provides a screenshot showing that the person did indeed say "X" and in a very nasty way as well.

It all goes to veracity and honesty and things of that nature. I think it should be used sparingly, but people who say one thing in public and another in private should probably recalibrate their integrity meters.