On Thu, 29 Nov 2007, jayjg wrote:
Private, however, implies secret-- or rather, that secrets are held within what is private. Otherwise, what's the point?
No, private implies not public. It's no secret what people do on the toilet, but that doesn't mean they want anyone watching them do it.
Secret has a whole other implication, of cloak and dagger skullduggery, illicit behavior, etc. That's why the word was persistently and consistently used, especially by some of the main conspiracy pushers. That's also why some others on this list were careful to use the word private. Let's not play games here, we both know that "private" and "secret" have different implications; it's unseemly of you to pretend otherwise.
Sitting on the toilet has no information content to keep secret, and thus can be private without being secret. However, if something is being kept private by hiding information, then it *is* secret. Most people don't know who's on the list, what's discussed on the list, which five people agreed with the block, or even what the content of the email posted there was. That's secret.