Will you peek into someone's email box, if you happen to find it open?
By mimpi
@mimpi1911 (25464)
India
February 27, 2009 4:43am CST
Today, we are most secure and most vulnerable. Secured with science and technology and again vulnerable to the same! A few days ago I happened to find my friend's email box opened right infront of me. She never signs out from her PC and all her passwords are stored there. I wanted to open my gmail account and hers came popping up! I felt like I have done a crime and closed the window immediately. Since then carrying a guilt of the sneaky peak.
To make a discussion, will you peek into your friends', spouse's, colleagues'....email box, if you find it open?
13 people like this
43 responses
@faith210 (11224)
• Philippines
27 Feb 09
Hi mimpi dear! This happens to me on a daily basis. My husband usually leaves his gmail or yahoo account open for me to see his inbox. Never peeked or read any of his emails. He usually calls me to read some of his emails that he thinks that will interest me. I usually concede when asked but I am not really interested. LOL! Maybe, if there will be some suspicions of an illicit affair---probably I will! LOL!
Take care and have a wonderful day!
lovelots..faith
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
3 Mar 09
Oh yes how great it would be catch something illicit...
Seriously, that should never be the case and the level of transparency is so much obvious dear.
2 people like this
@paula27661 (15811)
• Australia
27 Feb 09
Unless I had a real valid reason and suspecting that you husband is cheating is the only one I can think of, and even then it wouldn’t feel right. I would hate anybody taking a peak in my email box so, because my motto is "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you", I would not look!
2 people like this
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
2 Mar 09
Well said! Coming to the stalking thing my friend actually caught hold of her husband of the cheating that he had been doing for long through email box!
1 person likes this
@alokn99 (5717)
• India
27 Feb 09
Peek at someone's mail box- Never.
I have come across occassions like this so often in our office because of my role, that i invariably ask them to close the mailbox or close it myself. In fact i have felt very uncomfortable at it.
At the same time my job profile and experience makes my boss sometimes ask me to go through his mails for him. Although most of it is in regard to work, there is a lot of personal stuff as well. I can't express the sort of guilty feeling that goes through me then. But he does not listen and insists saying that there is nothing for me to feel bad about since he is asking me to do it.
1 person likes this
@alokn99 (5717)
• India
27 Feb 09
I do take it as part of my responsibility. But the discomfort is there all the time. And as much as i would not break the trust, getting to know certain things personal to someone while doing a job entrusted makes it a sort of weight on the concience in ways, hoping at the same time i am never put into an awkward situation because of knowing that information.
1 person likes this
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
2 Mar 09
Its a baggage if you look at it that way. Try not to be bothered by it just as we do with so many other things in life. We have to choose ways not to make our lives more difficult.
2 people like this
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
27 Feb 09
That is quite understandable. But you must take it that as a part of your job. He knows the kind of person you are and no wonder assigns you such kinda job. You are most trustworthy and he has no hesitation in having you to open his email box.
2 people like this
@kalav56 (11464)
• India
27 Feb 09
I would never do it.I would also have felt this way though I did not peek at all.[ When I was young and we used to play cards, even if one card of my neighboring player ,was peeping within my vision I would get panicky, and warn the person immediately.I need not have seen it even.But it is a weird unexplaineable feeeling.And , I would not like to play if I had seen it by accident.] .If it is my spouse's, there would be nothing new in it and he does not get any personal mails..And if it were my friends or colleagues or any body else there is no way I would ever do it.This is a certainty.
1 person likes this
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
2 Mar 09
Transparency is key to happy relationship. And I am glad that you two are so open and clean about this. Even though, I think there should be space between the two but its always upto the individuals. I really appreciate you two.
Peeking in reminds me of some incidents that were so common in college days. Some of the students would sneak in my exam papers and copy my page and guess what, I used to get so nervy that I couldn't even compose my thoughts properly. How silly can it get!
2 people like this
@kalav56 (11464)
• India
27 Feb 09
I left out one important point-if my spouse were to get personal emails , I would not peek into it ;but in that case he would tell me that he hs got a personal mail from A,B,C .I would report even if I get a mail from my friend or cousin or anyone for that matter..My son's I won't. Ill just get on to my site.If his chat messages pop up when I am on his laptop, then I would just call out to him that someone is waiting for him. and I would leave.We are very open with each other, all of us, but we have our personal space and respect this.
1 person likes this
@kalav56 (11464)
• India
2 Mar 09
It may be judgemental, but somehow, I do not like this copying business at all.You won't believe it, once , in the earlier small town we lived, there was a big get together for all subscribers of a tamil monthly magazine.There was a sort of questionairre and the woman who sat next to me peeked into my paper.The funnier and more ridulous thing was , , that it was on one's own personal charctersitics, achievements etc , along with some general questions.
I did not say anything but found that really pathetic.
1 person likes this
@saivenkaat802003 (4823)
• India
27 Feb 09
Hi Mimpi..How are you?
When i have no time to read and respond to my mails why must i peek into other's mail box.
okay.. now that i have learnt that you have gmail id also.. God must Will, so that you can give me that mail id of yours.
1 person likes this
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
27 Feb 09
Oh yes, this happened to me once or twice in cyber cafes. I think we must be careful while using our sites in public places. Must make sure to log out.
2 people like this
@mayka123 (16605)
• India
27 Feb 09
Someone had once open my hotmail account in the cyber cafe and sent an email to all my contacts and was even chatting online with a friend using very bad language. Luckily that friend believed it was not me and disconnected the line. Or else I may have lost a friend that day!
1 person likes this
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
27 Feb 09
That's so bad! I am glad that your friend respected you. It could have been fatal!
1 person likes this
@jewel76 (2305)
• Canada
1 Mar 09
Depends...if a friend comes over and logs into her email box and forgets to log out, i will not peak but simply log her out. If it's my hubby's email box, i will look into every corner of it, make sure he's not doing anything he's not supposed to! I was not this way before, but something happened with hubby and the internet, so now, ya, i check. And plus, he refuses to give me his password, but i willingly give him mine, cuz i got nothing to hide...so why doesn't he want to give me his? anyways, i would look into his email if i could.
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
5 Mar 09
I can understand jewel. You have your reasons which I appreciate but you could confront him straight. Reason him out, that's the best way, I suppose.
Good luck!
@lynboobsy11 (11343)
• Philippines
27 Feb 09
Nope, it happened to me when I my husband forgot to sign out in his G-talk account and automatically I saw most of his e-mail popping. I just closed and sign out his account, I know if I do such a peek thing It will caused some trouble on him and I don't want to make it happened to lost his trust on me.
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
4 Mar 09
I really appreciate your thoughts Lyn! Honesty is a great thing and we get paid for it all through our lives.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
1 Mar 09
no, i wouldn't do that. that would be an offense to my friend i would think . that's right up there w/reading someone's dairy, checking their phone calls sort of like stealing i would think.
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
5 Mar 09
I think that's stealing as you have said and nothing like breaking the trust of your friend. Trust is a delicate thing. Once broken, its gone forever.
1 person likes this
@torchablazed (3218)
• Philippines
27 Feb 09
Nope. Its a complete waste of time and I respected a person's privacy no matter who could that be. A friend once asks a favor from me to open his email since it was really that important then I confirmed to him that if he really wanted me to do it, although, I have opened his email, I get straight to what is being told and never bother to remember his password nor re-opened for a sneak peak.
1 person likes this
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
3 Mar 09
I knew your answer torchablazed! You can never peek, I am sure..
1 person likes this
@SaintAnne (5453)
• United States
2 Mar 09
I could say I have been tempted to sneak a peek but have never actually done it. I believe that if I don't want others to do the same with my email then I better not do the same.
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
2 Mar 09
It indeed gives me a creepy feeling that someone is peeking into my account even though there in nothing sneaky and that explains why both us would not do it!!
Hope you are just busy with your priorities and are happy.
1 person likes this
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
4 Mar 09
I really appreciate and trust me that's the way it should be.
Way to go..
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
3 Mar 09
I really appreciate the transparency between you two.
1 person likes this
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
5 Mar 09
I have had occasions when my boss saw through my mail box. But then. I was being careless everytime. He now insists that I close it before he sits on my computer.
@dpk262006 (58676)
• Delhi, India
28 Feb 09
I would not like to see any friend's mail box or his mobile message inbox, without his explicit permission, even if I happen to see it. I respect his privacy and would not like to invade it unnecessarily. He may be having some personal things, which may not be necessary for me to know. What happened with you was an accident and you did not do it intentionally, so I think you need not feel guilty about it. I hope your friend did not come to know about the 'accident'.
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
5 Mar 09
I think too much curiosity can ruin relationships and I rather mot see myself there.
1 person likes this
@dpk262006 (58676)
• Delhi, India
5 Mar 09
I buy your argument and it is also said that 'curiousity kills the cat'.
Have a great evening.
@CJay77 (4438)
• Australia
5 Mar 09
Heya mimpz! I don't think I've done this because I rarely go in the internet cafe and haven't seen one open, lol! Back at home nobody uses the computer except me and my Husband, sometimes my nephew used it for games. As for me and my Husband we both know each others passwords and I think I peek into his mails once accidentally, I opened gmail and I think he forgot to logged off and its all there, lol.
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
5 Mar 09
I known dear, you two are most transparent and your husband has to say pretty much the same thing. I thing trust, faith and respect make a relationship beautiful and I really wish you two a blessed life forever.
@MaryLynn321 (2680)
• United States
27 Feb 09
I wouldn't look into someone else's email box, and would hope they wouldn't look in mine either. I have nothing to hide. But, to me it is like the mail from the post office, it is private. I don't open someone else's mail, they shouldn't open mine.
Good topic.
Hugs
@MaryLynn321 (2680)
• United States
6 Mar 09
It may be civil, but I do know that my mail does get looked at occasionally.
@my1341 (456)
• China
8 Mar 09
Oh, never! Though sometimes I really came across such occasions when someone forgot to log out and left their mailbox open, I invariably minimize the window in case the owner will come back soon, or close the window immediately. I am not interested in others' personal affairs. It is not a virtuous act to peek into others' email. I hope I will never come across such occasions. Very awkward to handle such kind of affair.
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
12 Mar 09
I really appreciate. that's the way it should be but most would sneak a peak, specially if its his/her spouse...
@Braveheartok103 (380)
• China
8 Mar 09
Sometimes it happen to me. And I am a very curious person, so I cannot control myself and have to peek them. I know it is a bad habit, but I will try to change it.
happy mylotting!
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
12 Mar 09
Thanks for being honest Braeveheartok! I really appreciate.
PS: How is your wedding preparation going?