Gossip is spending someone else’s reputation to buy yourself a little attention.

Gossip trades on someone else’s standing and keeps the proceeds. The attention it buys is real, which is why it works, and the cost is paid entirely by a person who is not there to answer. There is a difference between working out a genuine problem with someone you trust and passing a story along because it is a good one. You usually know which you are doing.

Before repeating something, ask what it is for and who gains. If the honest answer is that it makes the conversation more interesting, let it stop with you.