So, the Triple Filter Theory of Socrates.  Filter what you are going to say using three criteria.  Before you speak, make sure what you will say will be (1) truthful, (2) good, and/or (3) useful.  Gossip is juicy.  People say it is "useful" because it is entertaining.  Is gossip useful to people because it gives them some way of deflecting their angst onto others?  I think so, and not just because others do it, but because I have done it. When my life is going well, I have no desire to see others in pain, but when times are tougher, it is harder to channel my anxiousness into positive words or behaviors.

What I find very tough to understand is when people trash their place of work or their educational institution.  What can be gained?  The only thing gained, it seems, is that you MIGHT get pity from others around you.  If you plan on getting a diploma from an institution, what value is achieved by trashing it to others?  Are you not biting the hand that will feed you?  If your school or workplace gets a bad reputation, what happens when you later tell colleges or other work places that this is where you learned or earned?

If you are part of a learning community, then you ARE that place.  Whether it is Harvard or Harrison High School, you ARE the place.  The bricks, mortar, tiles, plumbing, electrical, etc. do not make these institutions what they are.  YOU do.  If you trash the place, you are essentially trashing yourself because the institution is much more the people than it is the building.

Trash the institution if you want, but my energy will always be in opposition to yours.