This is said from an ethical perspective and not a legal one, though these two perspectives often overlap.Marvin
"Unless the recipient has some duty of confidentiality (e.g.,
physician-patient, attorney-client, trade secret disclosed in
communication), the recipient is free to share the information with
anyone. However, under some circumstances, the sender might sue the
recipient for publicity given to private life, under Restatement
(Second) Torts ยง 652D (1977)." In summary, the author of an e-mail message generally can not
prevent disclosure of the message by the recipient.
Sometimes, attorneys misuse the phrase "e-mail" to describe
messages sent to a group of people in a chat room. Such
communications to a chat room fail the second part of the Katz test,
since society does not recognize a reasonable expectation of privacy
in disclosures made in a public forum. In a chat room, there will be
people who are unknown to the author of communications with the chat
room, so there can be no legitimate expectation of privacy in a chat
room.
Use of a chat room must be carefully distinguished from
sending e-mail to one person, which is a private communication,
analogous to a telephone call or first-class letter via the U.S. Post
Office. U.S. v. Charbonneau, 979 F.Supp. 1177 (S.D.Ohio
1997) <reasonable expectation of privacy>
What is your point of view Marvin? Seems to me that it is not good
advice to tell someone that they acted responsibly when disclosing the
contents of private communication. At the very least the person could open
themselves to legal problems. And, is it really a gift when the gift is governed by law? And if in some cases a Court of Law can rule that disclosing a private communication is wrong conduct. who are you to decide that doing so is ethical and responsible and a gift when it is contingent not on the receiver (as you have ass erted) but on the sender (who can reasonably expect privacy, and can claim that he was harmed), the contents, and the Courts. Does ethical and legal conduct overlap when a Judge decides that the conduct was wrong?
Disclosing private communication is wrong conduct . Do things responsibly and ethically, ask the sender first.