| Dave
The rule I use is simple - I never send a PM or email that contains anything where I absolutely do not want the contents of which to be made public. You cannot control what happens to a PM or email after it is sent. A similar rule applies for word of mouth - there is nothing to stop someone passing on what you have said to a wider audience (although there is probably no proof that you said it short of a recording of the conversation).
There are times when I would prefer the contents of my PM/email to remain confidential, but once it's sent, it's out of my control. You just have to accept this as a fact of life.
If the recipient (or someone able to intercept the message) makes public something you sent, yes, that is an abuse of trust - unless the message you sent is abusive/threatening/etc. If your message contravenes the Terms and Conditions under which you use the message system, you are fair game as far as I'm concerned. That said, I would never make public the contents of a confidential message, whatever it contained - that's just my personal opinion(although I would consider reporting such a message to the appropriate authorities).  |