TOPIC:

I think as a general rule, researchers can freely use material from open fora without obtaining informed consent from the persons who have produced the information. Yet considering respect for participants, it is better to inform the participants whenever possible of any systematic registration or reporting of such information.

Yes I agree. The point is that information which is accessible for everybody with access to the internet can be of an extremely private character. For instance, a posting on a forum - the contributor might not be happy if the post is quoted for any other research purpose..

Yes, it is true that information that you access on the internet can be both public and private in nature. The problem is that it is extremely difficult to distinguish the two.

I was under the impression that all the information on the internet is 'public information'. But someone told me that its not and that it can be both public an private? How can that be possible?