If you'd asked me three weeks ago for my opinion on gossip - I would have told you that it's something that I try to stay well away from. That if I notice a conversation has turned a corner towards gossip I'll actively try to either steer it somewhere else, or shut it down. The reason that I held such strong views is that I have seen first hand the consequences that it can have. P.S. This is the one with the story about how gossip caused me a whole heap of drama!