Dannye's writeup on the belief that some things aren't appropriate for
public discussion doesn't, to me, have anything to do with
shame. I am completely
not ashamed of my
sex life, yet I don't talk about it in much
detail except to friends I know won't consider it
too much information. I
am ashamed of some things in the past I've done, like cheating on
Gamaliel when we were dating (just to pick the quickest-to-explain example) and yet I will talk about those things because of the effects of
confession (one cannot
repent without admitting to oneself (
guilt) and others (
shame) that one has done wrong -- can you tell I was raised
Catholic?) and to help others find a better path to avoid the consequences I faced.
So, I believe that shame is a good thing when felt over truly immoral actions -- murder, theft, breaking one's promises (such as monogamy, if such a promise has been made). It's separate but equal in power to guilt as a deterrent of repeating those actions, and may serve as a warning to others. However, the TMI phenomenon has nothing to do with shame; the people giving out too much information on E2 usually haven't done anything they are or should be ashamed of.
Clarification after reading
dannye's addition and
ymelup's writeup -- trying to
shame people for doing writeups
you don't approve of is the equivalent of
teenagers trying to shame one of their peers for dressing differently. Personally, I thought
Where do I come when I masturbate?, though the node title was badly phrased, was a fascinating trove of
information that taught me new things I hadn't known, even though I have been privileged to watch a couple of my boyfriends
masturbate during our relationships. It certainly isn't much of a getting-to-know-you node if I can remember all the possibilities that were suggested without having any memory of who added ideas to it. Myself, I'd be very disappointed if "people will, later on, delete {their writeups} that they think are so cool now" in that node, because it is useful and interesting information that no one should be ashamed of contributing.