Right, but few people have reputation worries regarding that which is objectively bad (e.g. criminal records for serious crimes). Most of it comes down to subje

Right, but few people have reputation worries regarding that which is objectively bad (e.g. criminal records for serious crimes). Most of it comes down to subjective preferences and events that are open to interpretation. An example: most of us would agree that there's nothing wrong with being gay, but most gay people wouldn't put it on a resume, knowing that there's still 1 out of 10 people who will have a problem with it. There's also nothing to gain, in a job search, by being public about heterosexuality. So sexual preference is (like politics and religion) just an area that many people choose to keep professionally private. One's political views could be beneficial-- most people would agree with my posts where I call Bush a fucking moron-- but generally people prefer to hold these cards close to their chests and be judged on their professional merits alone. Privacy is necessary not only for the few who have objectively bad (drunken slut, chronic liar) things to hide but also for the much greater pool of us who have things that they might be proud of (political activism, religious views) but wouldn't want to inject into their professional lives. Also, as with small towns in the past, there's the problem of reliability. Old-style small communities may have done a good job of policing some "indiscretions", but many have witch-burnings on their hands too... and we know those accusations weren't based in any reality whatsoever.