Others might have a very different definition of VPN. The "P" in "VPN"
stands for "privacy", which
I thought the word was "private" rather than "privacy". "Private" has two
different meanings, one for shutting out others from seeing, but the other
referring to restricted management, as in being under private control.
That is correct. A "Virtual Private Network" is a network that utilizes a
public medium, but is privately managed. Encapsulation is what makes a VPN
private, not encryption. I think that encryption is a tremendously
important component of an Internet-based VPN, and I wouldn't use a VPN over
the Internet without encryption. Nevertheless, the term VPN does NOT
necessitate encryption.