[smsm42]

Why not both? Think about something privately, then put it out, see how it stands, think a bit more about it, rinse, repeat.

The cons of public engagement is certain percent of people are assholes, and certain additional percent sometimes prefer to play ones online. Normally it's a low level threat, but if you happen to live in the US and tour thinking is particularly divergent from the mainstream with regard to certain set of subjects, it becomes an extremely high-risk activity, which may involve a possibility of financial ruin and/or physical harm. I hope one day we can grow out of this predicament somehow, but currently it is what it is.

The other con of course is that you may find out your thinking is not as good as you thought, and feel bad about it. I think it's better to know, but people may disagree on that.