My what a clever title for the topic i am about to put to you now:

Today i had a seminar with the Journalism department Ethics Committee.
In a discussion on Online ethics, we were told that the behaviour of 'lurking' (Defined as: someone who monitors internet discussions on forums but never contributes anything to the discussion) is actually illegal. It is seen as the reading of other people's private discussions and thoughts and is therefore prosecuteable under 'invasion of privacy'

Another interesting aspect that came up, is whether online community users see their messageboards as public sphere or private sphere discourse.

Any thoughts or do i carry on posting my usual stream of conciousness and irreverant quips on the state of things.