It might be time someone educate Marina Sirtis on exactly how the Internet works, and the rights of the media to cover what she might say in public venues.

The actress, best known for playing Counselor Deanna Troi in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and four movies, recently lashed out at popular Star Trek news Web site TrekWeb over a story the site published last July where Sirtis attacked Paramount Pictures over its proposed Star Trek movie.

"I just don't think anyone at Paramount understands Star Trek anymore," Sirtis was quoted from a chat she did with fans over the summer. The actress was talking about the then recent news of J.J. Abrams becoming the new man in charge of Star Trek XI, which has been rumored to be set in the time before TNG and possibly even the original "Star Trek."

"Yes, they are killing Trek," Sirtis said. "They are trying to reach a new 'lost' audience ... they just don't get it."

Sirtis followed that, according to TrekWeb's original report, by elaborating she was talking about Abrams' hit ABC show "Lost" when making the statement.

When the actress apparently learned that her comments on Star Trek XI as well as some unspecified comments about "Star Trek" star William Shatner made it on a number of news sites, including TrekWeb, she posted an angry response on her site's official message board.

"I have always thought that the chats I have with my fans are private to us and I never imagined that anyone would then take any information I divulged and post it on another site," Sirtis said, according to TrekWeb. "What I tell you guys is for us only. My feelings on certain topics such as Shatner were never intended to be made public. To be honest, I feel utterly betrayed."

So betrayed, in fact, that Sirtis says she may hang up her lift bra.

"I am now seriously considering closing the site as I don't feel it is safe for me anymore," she said. "I hate to do this just because of one irresponsible person, but my lack of faith in the computer age has now been confirmed."

Gustavo Leao, a longtime writer for TrekWeb, said that the chat transcript was available in a portion of Sirtis' message boards that was easily accessible to the public without a password.

Online chats, especially with celebrities, are hardly ever "private," because of the number of people involved and the nature of topics being discussed. Many news sites, such as Airlock Alpha (and apparently TrekWeb as well, although this site would not presume to speak for them) weigh the "privacy" of such conversations and transcripts based on the availability of the information, and if special access were needed to access it. If a transcript is officially made available outside of special access, then -- at least as far as Airlock Alpha is concerned -- the chat is public, and thus quotable.

Sirtis apparently has learned her lesson and has since hidden the chat transcript behind a "members-only" wall.

Airlock Alpha itself faced a similar issue back in 2003 when a fan Web site held a chat with "Battlestar Galactica" showrunner Ronald D. Moore, and then posted the transcript publicly. Airlock Alpha then quoted some portions of the chat transcript, providing source recognition to the original site, in a story that appeared on Airlock Alpha. The owners of the site complained about copyright infringement and the "privacy" of the chat, but site officials concluded that the transcript was made a part of the public domain, allowing portions of it to be quoted and discussed in news items as part of U.S. Copyright Fair Use statutes.

Plus, it's probably a bit silly to expect that something you say on the Internet to a group of strangers won't somehow make it past your little circle, especially if you're a celebrity and have something interesting to say.