I see Discourse as being divided into such parts:
Email-like—“Topics”
- Public—“Topic” (with default category security settings of “everyone”, fully public if the site is not login required)
- Semi-public—“Topic” (with category security settings restricted to groups)
- Private—“Personal Message” (restricted to invited individuals only, I believe)
Chat-like—“Chats”
- Public—“Channels” (open to registration but hidden by default, not fully public because not available to non-logged-in users)
- Semi-public—“Channels” (with category security settings restricted to groups, I think)
- Private—“Personal Chat” (restricted to invited individuals only, I believe)
As you mentioned, I can see such downsides of using encryption for private topics (personal messages), as I see them very similar to sending a private email: sometimes they’re used for drafts, sometimes we want to cc people to bring them into the loop, sometimes we want to forward it, turn it into a public discussion, etc. I still like the benefits of knowing that something is labeled personal is not readable by an admin, but can see some of the tradeoffs.
I also can see the downsides of encryption for public and semi-public chats (channels), as it would make it hard to quote chats into a topic, and even the old, maybe-new-again feature to move chat messages to topics. I like those abilities and wouldn’t want to hinder them; plus, with them being public and semi-public, I have more of an expectation that an admin should be able to read them all.
I strongly still desire e2ee for private chat (personal chat). I rarely if ever will bring another person into a specific chat, instead starting a new group chat. I rarely will use them as drafts or want to convert them into something in a public/semi-public chat channel. I guess I see them as the most intimate form of communication we have online and FB and other platforms don’t have default e2ee on their private chats and many people don’t mind, I think the risk is much higher on smaller communities, as it’s harder to hide in the crowd of millions/billions of people.
I do work with emotions, helping people deal with conflict and say how they’re feeling, and I’ve turned on encryption for private topics and will probably try to turn off the ability for people to send private chats to anyone but me until e2ee exists for it, because I want them to be fully aware that any chat they send, I can see.
So yes, I can see why it may limit other functions on private topics and public/semi-public chat channels, I just really want the most private space on the platform to be as private as it can be.