Rules of Netiquette

Explaining the Rules of Netiquette

Virginia Shea, author of The Core Rules of Netiquette, outlines the most basic rules to follow while on the Internet. The first and most important thing to remember is that even though you cannot see the person on the other end, you are still communicating with humans. They have feelings, and just like in the "real world," feelings can be hurt. The following rules in Shea's book discuss ways to make sure you do not hurt others along with ways to present yourself well in different areas of the Internet.

E-mail

People e-mail all the time between friends, family, business associates and clients. Knowing how to send an appropriate and effective e-mail is important so that you respect the recipient's time.

• Importance of subject line: The subject line is for letting the recipient know the contents of the e-mail sent. This means that if you have exchanged an e-mail back and forth a couple of times, a change in the subject line is needed to reflect the newest message. This saves your recipient time because if the message is not of immediate importance the recipient can read it at a more convenient time.
• The start and finish of an e-mail: To show professionalism and respect, you should start with a greeting such as "Hi" or "Hello" followed by the person's name. It should conclude with a send off like "Take care" "Regards" or "Thanks" followed by your name.
• Watch out for formatting: Fancy fonts and colors are cute for family and friends but when conducting business, it is best to keep your messages as plain as possible. It is better to send a TXT message as opposed to a HTML message as well. This is because if the person does not view his or her mails in HTML, converted formatting to TXT may look odd, especially if you have bullets and other formatting.
• Proofread: Your message is a representation of you and grammatical or spelling errors can give the other person a bad impression of you.

Discussion Forums

Many of the same rules apply to discussion forums as they do in electronic mail. You want to proofread your posts, pick a clear, and concise subject line and watch out for too much formatting. However, some rules are unique to discussion forums:

• Lurk before you post: When joining a new social group, take some time to read some of the posts. Read the FAQ section or special posts at the top of the forum. This will give you a feel for the group and understand what the forums discuss.
• Search for answers: Before posting with a question, go to the search tool and type in some keywords. You may find that someone else has already asked your question before. Many long time forum members find it irritating when newcomers post the same questions and they have to repeat themselves.
• Do not flame: Flaming is going into a discussion and purposely causing arguments. Of course, there will be times when you will disagree with something someone says. Find a way to disagree politely and still show respect toward others.
• Caps lock off: Writing in caps means you are shouting or mad.
• Be an active knowledgeable participant: Do not join forums only for your benefit; try to help others with what you know.
• Watch what you say and how you say it: Outside of the internet, everyone has those times when he or she unintentionally hurts someone by saying the wrong thing. You are able to see that you hurt that person by seeing their reaction. Online you do not have that luxury so people may not know you did not mean to offend them. Be careful about what you say and explain yourself well. Sarcasm does not work well in forums since it is hard to tell whether it is truth or a joke.

Issues on the Net

Since you cannot see the other person when communicating online, if you feel that you have insulted someone or came across as rude, feel free to send the person a message to explain. Alternatively, if you were insulted try to discuss what you found offensive so you can work it out. Just like if you have a problem with someone at work or other setting, you can approach that person to explain your side and discuss how you feel.