Secret society is a term used to describe a variety of organizations. Although the exact meaning of the term is disputed, several of the definitions advanced indicate a degree of secrecy Secrecy is often controversial, depending on the content of the secret, the group or people keeping the secret, and the motivation for secrecy. Secrecy by government entities is often decried as excessive or in promotion of poor operation; excessive revelation of information on individuals can conflict with virtues of privacy and confidentiality and secret knowledge, which might include denying membership or knowledge of the group, negative consequences for acknowledging one's membership, strong ties between members of the organization, and rites or rituals which outsiders are not permitted to observe.
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