Question!

[Dlayeth]

Okay, say you have this best friend, who is using his dad's ipad, and accidentally comes across an email. This email is from a girl replying to a Craigslist ad. In the email are the words:

"Anyone want some head? I swallow"
His dad replies: "Sounds good, how about next wednesday?"

and there are quite a few messages from different girls too...
What should he do? Should he ask his sister (she's older than him by 4 years)? Should he confront his dad (potential for violence here and will be very awkward)? Should he talk to his mother? Should he pretend to have seen nothing at all?

Should I delete this thread and pretend I said nothing?

EDIT: Apparently, his dad's trying to set something up for this coming Wednesday. He's replied to at least 6 ads. For one of the ads there are multiple emails between himself and the lady who put the ad up.

[UKsweetie]

has this happened to you?...

[Jorick]

Hahaha, that's great. First of all I'd tell the friend to suggest to his father to not leave himself logged into email accounts and the like on computers that other people use. Basic logic right there.

As for what to do with the information, there are two ways to deal with it. First would be to not give a fuck and forget about it, cause it ain't his marriage so may as well let it be as it is. Second option would be to do something about it. I'm assuming that he isn't the type to roll with the not giving a fuck option, since he apparently came to you for some kind of advice rather than leaving it alone.

I think the best way for him to do something about the information would be for him to get his mother and father together and say it to both of them at once. The sister need not be involved, but confronting the father and telling the mother are both worthy options so he may as well double up. That would also be very likely to prevent the possibly fatherly violence since he'll be too busy trying to explain his philandering to swing a fist at his tattling son. The best approach would be for him to say his piece explaining when/how he found the info and then back out of the situation as quickly as possible. Drop the bomb, then get out of the blast radius. Remaining directly involved for any longer than absolutely necessary would be stupid.

[Kestrel]

potential for violence

Explain this.

Other than that,

I think the best way for him to do something about the information would be for him to get his mother and father together and say it to both of them at once. The sister need not be involved

This would be my first instinct. However, I would advise to avoid any risk of violence, so if the potential threat is significant enough, informing a third party for safety reasons would be recommended. Never advise someone something that might bring their health in danger.

Additionally, should the bomb be dropped, tell your friend to try his hardest to keep his calm and pose questions instead of accusations. Even if the friend makes himself look like a retard with that, this is a family situation we're dealing with. You want as little hostility in that room as possible.

[Dlayeth]

has this happened to you?...

No.

- - - Updated - - -

Thanks for the replies.

- - - Updated - - -

Explain this.

I'm not too sure about it myself. I've never met his dad. He was just worried there might be some sort of violence.

[FlowerGirl]

Oh. I've found the best way to deal with this kind of stuff is to have the confronation, even if there's the threat of violence. Otherwise it will most likely just sit in your mind, and continually stress you out until you start having outward problems (shakes, breakdowns, extreme emotional instability). I agree with Jorick, that this friend should say it with both parents there, in order to reduce the chance of violence.