Could everyone just stop talking?

I'll save you reading now: the moral of the story is not to talk about things that don't involve you. It breeds dramatic response, which is honestly immature and annoying.

I can't stand it when one person here's some gossip about another and immediately has to tell them.  There are certainly cases where its appropriate, but if the person was honestly just sharing their point of view on another, you don't really need to tell this other person. Unless they are your best friend or something. But otherwise you're just making everyone look bad. The person who has been judged gets hurt. The person who has the opinion looks like an asshole even though in some (definitely not all cases) the other may deserve this view. It's up to those two people to sort out their issues, and they will do it when it's the right time for them. Don't force it by inserting yourself into the situation and telling them that Person A said XYZ about them.

In a class of mine last week we talked about the different decisions we can make and how they play into the greater life story of a person.  We did this by playing a sort of "choose your own adventure" game (apologies that the hyperlink may bring you to the most mediocre yet delightfully distracting website).  At the end, each group read their character's story and we looked at how different internet events can effect our real lives.

I think people don't realize that they have to be careful about who they are and what they say in the "real world" and who they are in a virtual setting.  It's kind of pathetic that people think they can just release online.  Many people think they can vent and say whatever they want and show whatever they want without consequence. They think no one will know their URL and therefore no one will know the virtual them. Which is BS. A friend of mine from high school has a pretty raunchy blog that I accidentally stumbled upon one night, and now I could never see him the same way in person.  But the same goes for face to face interactions. If you don't watch what you say or do, people spread information about you that might be true, or might be assumptions based on your attitudes and actions. Or, if you involve yourself in things that aren't your business, people will realize and not trust you.

Just stop sharing what doesn't need to be shared, for the greater good.