Difference between local sharing and network sharing

I have multiple users on my mac and I realize that each user has read access to each other's public folder, and access to the shared folder. I also realize that if I create a folder in my home folder and forget to set "No Access" in the 'Get Info' box for others, my other users can read those folders.

I never connected my mac to a network of macs, and I was curious to know what folders on my computer are available to other computers. Can other computers see the contents of the folders in my home directory when those particular folders aren't set to "No Access" for others? Or can other computers only see user's public folders exclusively?

Basically, are the sharing rules for "others" different when it comes to other users on my computer vs. 'others' as in other computers?

By default, the only anonymous access to any user's home folder is the drop box. There is no read access to this folder (only write), so random people on the network can't do any browsing in your home directory. If, however, you authenticate yourself with the user name and password of a local account on that remote computer, things start to get a little more complicated.

So in other words, it's the second question--only public folders are visible to unauthenticated remote users.

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