I don't know what to say to that. You're quite right. If you post to a Yahoo Group it's kept on Yahoo's servers. If you don't want something put in writing or copied, don't say it online.

wise is the fool who keeps their big mouth shut.

This is the main reason why so many of us remain anonymous in this forum, and probably one of the main reasons why it is so successful!

I agree with all that has been said.

I would like to think that no one I know would abuse the Yahoo groups I am in by passing on the information to something like this forum, but I suppose I can't tell. It is a pity that we can't really trust the people we think we know that their integrity is what we expect.

Rule #1 of internet use: Assume *everything* you put in an email (or post on a forum) may end up being made public.

Is this true, or am I being over-cautious?
It is absolutely true. I am a member of an international Yahoo group for independent business professionals. The discussion turned to how "private" our conversations were. At the time, if you searched for my name in Google one entry contained comments from that Yahoo group. (!) People were in disbelief, nearly calling me an alarmist liar until they tried it themselves. Several months later I received a Google Alert for my name that was again attached to that Yahoo group. Again, I had to forward the email to the group before I was taken seriously.

I do believe it was a freak anomaly, but anomalies happen. So do participants with unscrupulous values or those who develop axes to grind. I'm not advocating paranoia, but do think twice when writing of deeply personal or potentially embarrassing or slanderous topics.