Dannye's writeup on the belief that some things aren't appropriate for public discussion doesn't, to me, have anything to do with shame. I am completely not ashamed of my sex life, yet I don't talk about it in much detail except to friends I know won't consider it too much information. I am ashamed of some things in the past I've done, like cheating on Gamaliel when we were dating (just to pick the quickest-to-explain example) and yet I will talk about those things because of the effects of confession (one cannot repent without admitting to oneself (guilt) and others (shame) that one has done wrong -- can you tell I was raised Catholic?) and to help others find a better path to avoid the consequences I faced.

So, I believe that shame is a good thing when felt over truly immoral actions -- murder, theft, breaking one's promises (such as monogamy, if such a promise has been made). It's separate but equal in power to guilt as a deterrent of repeating those actions, and may serve as a warning to others. However, the TMI phenomenon has nothing to do with shame; the people giving out too much information on E2 usually haven't done anything they are or should be ashamed of.


Clarification after reading dannye's addition and ymelup's writeup -- trying to shame people for doing writeups you don't approve of is the equivalent of teenagers trying to shame one of their peers for dressing differently. Personally, I thought Where do I come when I masturbate?, though the node title was badly phrased, was a fascinating trove of information that taught me new things I hadn't known, even though I have been privileged to watch a couple of my boyfriends masturbate during our relationships. It certainly isn't much of a getting-to-know-you node if I can remember all the possibilities that were suggested without having any memory of who added ideas to it. Myself, I'd be very disappointed if "people will, later on, delete {their writeups} that they think are so cool now" in that node, because it is useful and interesting information that no one should be ashamed of contributing.