I was reading Diva earlier and there's an article on gossiping. I suppose there are different levels of gossip, but the main focus of the article was about general day-to-day gossip and it's effects on others.

So I pose the question: Do you gossip or do you stare down your nose at those who do?

Everybody gossips to some extent, CZ.

There is an old adage in Spanish.

"Those who talk to you about other people will talk about you with other people."

What matters here is the intent behind the gossip.

edit:
Seriously, I frown upon the betrayal of trust. If it is harmless gossip, fine. If someone confided in you about their secret, then that's that. Sacrosanct. People who betray other people's confidences are beneath contempt.

Very very true, I have never trusted anyone who will tell me personal details about another because you may be damn sure they will happily tell others anything you might confide in them.. Everybody gossips to some extent about general stuff, its just an exchange of news a lot of the time, but if something is told in confidence or the details are personal then it should not be spread around..

Do people realise the extent of their gossiping though? And do they seriously consider the effects of it on others?

Once someone (I will not name) told me a gossip.
Then she asked me for something personal.

I told her it was personal.
She argued that she had told me something personal, the least I could do is tell her something.

I told her to feck off.

Edited: this story was about my student years in France, and has no connection to Intrepid whatsoever. Thus I awkwardly misrepresented the real truth.

Gossip can be dangerous as it is sometimes hard to know where to draw the line.

ill gossip now and again,but not in a bad way.more like,did you hear she snogged such and such the other night?? little things.and it would be between me and my sisters or brothers a lot of the time cos i know it wouldnt go any further.

i KNOW ive been gossiped about and it always hurt but to be honest,those that did the gossiping about me barely had a fuckin clue of anything about me.it was all based on other circumstances.what can you do except ignore the small minded bastards.

This is what I was wondering, when we gossip why do we not put ourselves in the other persons shoes and realise how it feels?

Sometimes people forget what it is like for the other person.

I've heard a lot of people around here gossip

I heard you're an awful gossip

One person here has said to me they love nothing more than gossiping, it make me think twice about talking to them.

Nah...if someone tells me something in confidence they can rest assured that I'll take it to the grave. I'd never betray a person like that.

thats not actually a shock to hear really faust..

i wouldnt gossip to put anyone down,more for a bit of a giggle.as i said it wouldnt be in a bad way.

i hate people to talk about other people gossip
i think they have no life and have to talk about others
because they ahve nuting in there lifes

Yes, you would think that. There is so much to talk about, without resorting to the minutae of people's lives.