The secret of Socrates to silence gossipers

One day, one of the philosophers of the day is offered to Socrates and says:

-Socrat, do you know what I heard about your student?

- Wait a minute. Before you tell me, I'd like you to pass a short test first. It's called “test of three questions” Before you talk to me about my student, let's see what you mean. The first test is the truth. Are you sure what you want to tell me is true?

- No! I just heard he was talking about it.

So you're not sure if it's true or not. Is that what you want to tell me about my student something good? He asked Socrates

- No. It is the very opposite of it, the philosopher replied.

So you want to tell me something bad about my student... even though you're not sure whether it's true or not!

The philosopher wrinkled his arms and began to feel bad as Socrates continued:

- You still have the chance to pass the test. There's still the third question; The side of benefit. What you want to tell me about my student, will it be useful to me?

Not at all, the philosopher answered.