It's also a trap for thise who think their opinions will only be seen by their 'friends'.
Once a NZ Dairy Group exec and Affco CEO, Ross Townshend learnt this the hard way recently when his rather frank and unflattering comments about Nanaia Mahuta were picked up by the permanently outraged.
Unsurprisingly, this cost him his gig at Tatua Dairy.
One would have thought someone who has been around as long as Townshend would know that whatever you say, even in a supposedly restricted forum, will sooner or later be widely picked up.
The old adage which says 'what you say today could end up on the front page of the newspaper tomorrow' is always a good mantra to live by.