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Comment by Dove | Hacker News Reader

    I’ve often thought that the single most devastating  
    cyberattack [would be] simply to simultaneously make 
    every e-mail and text ever sent universally public. 
    . . . . the fabric of society would instantly evaporate,
    every marriage, friendship and business partnership 
    dissolved.

I don't think it would be quite that bad. There are some people who lie to everyone, but there are also some people who are decent and honest. Some relationships would weather that kind of storm just fine.

In fact, maybe this is the optimist in me, or maybe I'm projecting, but I think most relationships would be just fine.

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I would indeed be concerned if everyone around me really lived in a bed of lies that deep.

I don't have many friends, but I have no reason at all to suspect that I wouldn't still have those friends should such a thing occur.

It would be a wonderful political hack though. Just thinking of a zero day email dump hack makes me smile. The political fallout alone... just imagine. Wow, I felt like I was channeling John Lennon there for a moment.

As someone who doesn't engage in much personal gossip I would focus on the business relationships aspect. There is often a lot of nuance in these relationships and talking to them in one way and internally in another. That is not to say you are screwing them over but read out of context by the other party could damage the relationship.

I started a reddit thread once, "who here has absolutely no secrets with their SO?" While there were a number who couldnt imagine that kind of trust, a multitude said that living that was is incredibly freeing. I know I agree with that.

In this passage the author is using satire. Of course it wouldn't be that bad, but describing literally how it would be, wouldn't be that funny.

I don't think it would be satire, exactly. He'd have to be making fun of something specific that someone else said. Hyperbole, maybe?

At any rate, that would be encouraging if it were true. I must admit, I do not have a threshold of cynicism beyond which I assume a sentiment is a joke. There seem to be arbitrarily depressing people out there.

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