If you are a member of a online social network, for example, Facebook, be careful when you think you are venting only to your friends, often, when you hit the Submit key, what you just wrote will be read by the entire world!

This was the unfortunate demise experienced by a college professor, Reiko Ohnuma!  To prepare for her class the professor looked something up on Wikipedia, which she wasn't very proud of doing.  Then follows a tirade of venting to her friends on Facebook, where she wrote that she felt like a fraud and asked if parents would be upset if they found out that their college student professor had to use Wikipedia for help with her lesson plan, which was then preceded by even more venting, this time about her colleagues!

She found out the hard way that what she wrote was not only seen by her friends, and colleagues but her students as well!  She has not lived that embarrassment down yet, apparently obvious from the writing of the article I read written by Jeffrey R. Young, in the Chronicle of Higher Education and for which I found an online link posted above.

We all make mistakes like that or close to it at some point or another.  For some people, they sometimes say or do things which they will come to regret later on.   Is this the reason for a lot of anonymous responses or postings online?  (thank heavens JU no longer allows such things!)  This is why I abhor anonymous mouthing offs, because if you have something bad to say about anyone or anything, be brave enough to put your name to it!  

Just remember, one should be very careful and re-read, then re-check to whom you're sending your writing (or at least remember that the entire world will see it!) and most of all, if you think that photo of you skinny-dipping in the hotel's fountain at your (insert at will here) wedding will make for a good laugh, re-think this big reveal, before hitting that submit key!