Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is there any case where they ever need to be shared? If you need a login, generate a new one.
Yeah, I'd strike "except where they're needed". Never share a private key.
Bonus points: monkeysphere and certificate based auth are two other great solutions for making sure the ssh server you log into is not doing a MITM on initial connection (you know, the part where it asks you to manually verify the fingerprint of the server key and you likely just hit y instead).
Forwarding your ssh agent to a host that you don’t know for certain is not doing a MITM attack on you can be devastating, as is entering a password into same.