i agree with Musafeer, abshaw and pez... but everything needs to be put into context. if someone is sinning and harming others then you need to say something (such as "whistle-blowing"). if they are sinning in their own homes, and it harms noone/no thing else but their own soul - then it is between him/her and God. I would hope that a close friend or loved one would try to stop me though. Afterall, we are to help others be better people and to TOGETHER serve God, this Earth and humanity.

There's a hadith that states that if you cover up the sins of your brother then Allah (swt) will cover up your sins on the Day of Judgment. Allah (swt ) will come to you and whisper your sins in your ear for you to admit to rather than face the embarassment of having all of humanity know what you did. And with the Day of Judgment lasting the length of 50,000 years (49,500 years for the poor), I would think that this a big deal. But there are some conditions to this. First, if the sin is hidden and is something that doesn't affect society, then you have no right to meddle with it. However, if the sin can harm society or if the sinner has already done the sin in public then you can bring it up. However, in the case of doing the sin in public, I would use discretion as you don't want to cause fitnah. So my final say is this... If the sinner keeps it hidden and it only hurts themself, then don't drag it in the mud. Otherwise, make a well thought out decision before you act.

I think that talking about past experience with the intent to illuminate the wrong it causes of relay the consequences is a fundamental service to society as a whole. Al Qur'an invites us to examine past societies and relate their mistakes to their subsequent downfall. In many ways this is analogous to, say, someone like me talking about their past waste of money, drug abuse, or sexual exploits in the context of how it was wrong and what did or could have happened in order to warn or advise others who do not have the same experiences. I am on the fence.. I think boasting about sinning is wrong, talking about it in a frank and honest manner to illustrate a point (that ultimatly leads to its unsavory consequences) is not. If more people talked about sexual abuse, for instance, maybe it would not be so prevalent in muslim society.

What about the whisle blowers, if they adapt moderation then they cant say anything going on in the offices, but if the thing is wrong and it will help (at least in the whistle blower's mind)other people, then I think that taking it public should not be condenmed.

Intereseting JE.It's an issue that has a lot to talk about--its a huge topic.In short, I agree with both Lilly and PezDispenser i.e., publicizing someone else's sins and confessing your own sins to someone else.-both should be avoided.This is the way Islam suggests us and in general this is the proper way. If you really have to talk about both side(Only if it helps someone, otherwise not), I believe moderation is where you have to draw a line.

I think you need to know something about what others are doing.. if you're at an age where you're not old enough or mature enough to make up your on mind ..but too much information can lead you down the wrong path.. there's a difference between 'my friend went to a party.. everyone there was taking drugs.. so she went home! ...only 3 of our classmates have admitted to it.. so it's not that cool' ......and 'everyone is doing it so it can't be that wrong'..I think the trend in the west for people and the media, to publicise everything they get up to (naseeb is also an example) leads to more people thinking shameless behaviour is 'normal' which is a shame in itself. I think we have a duty to stop the more impressionable people around us (whether younger or immature) from jumping on to whatever bandwagon is popular these days by not telling them what we've tried, and how little harm it did us, and how there's no harm in experimenting with anything and everything while you're young.. Islam tells you to keep your private life/ sins secret for a reason.. apart from it being tacky.

everything in moderation.... there has to be a medium somewhere....

Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil..