Lets post here without use of word 'you' or 'yours', so that we all can feel its not going personal any time.

I am interpretting forum policies as they exist on a regular forum or lets say default installation of most of the forum scripts.

Almost all forums are subject to monitoring by staff and unwanted or useless posts removed by them. When you post in a forum, you are posting a message but that message is visible to all who have permissions to read it. When you use PM system, you are doing same thing. You are making a post but this post is visible to particular member only under normal circumstance.

Staff has a job to do and that is to scan forum posts for illegal stuff or any thing against forum policies. Same goes for PM messages. I am not labelling it as allowed or 'not allowed' thats what we all are discussing here, but take for example this situation :-

Member 'A' has befriended member 'B' in your forum and they both interact with each other. Lets say member 'A' one fine day sent message that he will kill member 'C' but member 'B' did not check in the forums and a couple of days later member 'C' is found dead. Investigations lead agents to your forum. Keep other things aside, but if you had read such a message, member 'C' could have been alive. You may escape this by saying that you never read messages but then from your heart you know, atleast an attempt could have been made if you were following messages. Now it sems pretty extended situatino but then it is an example. Could be extended to terrorists, extortionists and so on.

Another situation where member 'A' is new and joins your hosting forum. He starts sending PMs to existing members, inviting them to his own hosting company with offers that are appealing. Member 'A' is clever and does it in a way that recipient doesn't complain if not interested, but usually find offers appealing. So, he is using your forum, your respurces and your databse to get clients for his business, which infact is your competition. What then?


Third situation is that some one in your staff is a mole who is though being paid by you, but is actually working for your rivals. Like any time a member sends them message for help or any offers, they preach other hosting firm or lets say leak your upcoming offers to rivals. may be they were devoted and sincere for your firm when appointed but some rival visits your forum and behaves as a normal member and is rather trying to woo away your staff or playing tricks. How will you know about this? There is no way to know about it if it were happening on a platform other than forum, but if it were through forum resources, you'd be pulling your hair.

I am not advocating reading messages for those who use it to blackmail or may be do it with voyeur tendency, but then there are genuine reasons as well.