I don’t know what to think of the issue with Hillary’s private server. I wish she would admit she was lazy or whatever motivated her behavior and move on. This seems such a focal point and I struggle to understand whether it is that significant or not. I have and still run an email server. My first email system was hacked and I shut it down. The present system is used only to forward email generated by my blogs and seems to be clean. I think most citizens have far less technical insight and have even less capacity to evaluate whether this is serious or not.
I understand the issue with using multiple email systems and how it can be a hassle when you work from many different devices. The university I worked for used a Microsoft email system and required changes in passwords every three months. The situation there was less about security – we were told that emails sent on the system were considered part of the public record and could be requested. My email was purposefully not to be considered secure and it was my personal emails rather than my work emails that I might be an issue. My preference had little to do with concern for the public record and more with the personal preference for GMail over Microsoft exchange.
I am not in a position to evaluate the information in the emails she received and sent. I have no idea whether she was given any directives beyond the general rules for government service. I pretty much ignored the general rules I was given because I did not think my behavior was damaging to anyone and I valued my time and the daily commitment I made to be available to anyone. I suppose if I was directly asked to change my behavior I would have changed. This is not a justification in any way, but I understand how expectations related to our online behavior are not always taken seriously.