Lesson 6: Netiquette

By now you have learned about discussion groups, modem usage, levels of Internet connectivity, and e-mail. These are all useful tools to keep you in touch with all those people out there. Just as there are rules of behavior for people who eat in restaurants, socialize with friends, attend public performances, and work in offices, there are also rules of behavior for people who choose to interact with other people via the Internet. This lesson will provide you with some of the basic guidelines for getting along with others in the vast electronic community.

This week's lesson is going to begin with some general guidelines that will always serve you well, no matter where you choose to hang-out in cyberspace. Then we'll focus on some specific guidelines for e-mail and discussion groups/newsgroups.

It's important to remember that, even though you can't see or hear them, you are interacting with people. Therefore, the common rules of basic human kindness still apply. People are not perfect. They make mistakes and say strange things. They may even, intentionally or not, insult or offend others. Please be as understanding and tolerant as you would in any face-to-face communication. Also remember that what you are saying is in written form, and that words can come back to haunt you. E-mail is easily forwarded. Use the same standards of behavior that you follow in real life. Don't lie, cheat, or steal. Don't try to hurt others or take advantage of them.

Please remember that no one can hear your tone of voice. Use emoticons (or smilies) like :-) or ;^) -- turn your head counterclockwise to see the smile. Sarcasm doesn't always come across very well in written form. Asterisks (*) surrounding a word can be used to make a stronger point.

For some reason, there are a lot of people out there who seem to forget everything they ever learned about spelling, grammar, and punctuation whenever they are online. People who create the most eloquent memos at work will also send their co-workers an e-mail message looking something like this:

hi, were having a meting today at 10am look forward to seeing u there

Sure, the recipients may understand the message, but it certainly doesn't reflect well on sender that he/she seems to be unable to hit the Shift key or spell simple words correctly. Remember that your message may be seen by thousands of people -- none of whom know any more about you than what you communicate to them in your messages.

Not only are messages written in all capital letters difficult to read, they are the equivalent of shouting. Recipients of such messages may take offense at being shouted at, so please turn-off the caps lock. Sometimes it's okay to use all caps to stress a point. Use your discretion.

If someone tells you something in confidence, please don't share it with the entire group. At home and at work, it is rude and unethical to read other people's e-mail messages. On the other hand, if you are at work, your employer owns the computer and everything stored on it and therefore has the right to read your messages. Most respectable employers wouldn't dream of doing that, unless they have reason to believe that something illegal or improper is going on. Also, please don't read over people's shoulders. If they want you to see their messages, they'll send them to you.

Please invest in a good virus program. You wouldn't cough on another person, would you? So please do your part to keep their computers healthy. Also try to avoid spreading virus hoaxes -- messages that you may receive describing some nasty virus that does not actually exist. Check out Symantec's virus hoax web site for an up-to-date list of known virus hoaxes.

I'm not talking about the meat product in a can. In cyberspace, spam is e-mail sent to hundred or thousands (or more) innocent, unsuspecting, uninterested people, often trying to sell them something. Internet service providers don't like it because it clogs their servers, and recipients don't like it because it clogs their inboxes. It is often illegal. It is certainly irritating.

Please don't include the entire contents of a previous posting in your reply. Leave just enough to indicate what you're responding to. This is especially important if you are responding to a response to someone else's response to someone else's initial post.

Please don't send lines longer than 80 characters. This is a kindness to folks with terminal-based mail editors or newsreaders. Some mail gateways truncate extra characters turning your deathless prose into gibberish. Some mail editor tools only seem to insert line breaks for you, but actually don't, so that every paragraph is one immense line. Learn what your mail editor does.

It would be wise to treat every post as though you were sending a copy to your boss, your minister, and your worst enemy. Don't rely on the ability of your readers to tell the difference between serious statements and satire or sarcasm.  It's hard to write funny. It's even harder to write satire.

Cryptic subject lines or no subject lines at all are not helpful to recipients. Please don't waste people's time.

I'm not talking about the song made famous by Aretha Franklin. Just as there are many chain letters in paper form floating around the postal system, there are also many electronic chain letters. If you receive one, please don't pass it on to the poor, unsuspecting people in your electronic address book. They are rarely appreciated.

That's great! Just be selective when deciding to share them with friends and associates. Some people get hundreds (or thousands) of messages a day. They're very busy people who are not interested in wading through many "joke of the day" messages. Some of us appreciate the occasional joke. It isn't wrong to forward them, but please use discretion.

When attaching files to e-mail messages, be sure that the recipient will be able to read it. Don't send them an Excel file if they don't have a program that can read it. As always, scan attachments for the latest viruses.

Please don't forward a message to someone else without first obtaining permission from the author.

Also, Please know about SPAM, another term for junk mail or hoax 'opportunities' or viruses.  There's a lot of email floating around that contains deceptive or manipulative information.  Chain letters, false or questionable advertising, virus hoaxes, etc.  The rule is, DON'T forward anything unless you check out what you are forwarding first.

Use the below guidelines for analyzing the quality of a mail message that you receive:

- Is the tone exceedingly cautionary, or excited, or inflammatory?  Watch out.

- Do you get several copies of the email from different sources, or does the email address that was used to get the mail to you look funny, or is not associated with the organization that the subject of the message is about?

- Is there an offer for something free, which is not really free, ie there's some small or not so small charge involved.

- The sending mail address does not match the domain name of the website that is listed as a link.

- Be wary of one-time or special offers that may have been available for years.

- Are there requests in the email to forward it to everyone you know?

Please don't send a message when you mean to send a command, and vice versa. Remember, Listserv commands are sent to the Listserv's address, not to the discussion list's address. If necessary, please review Lesson 2.

Remember where you are when you are in cyberspace. The oft-cited advice is to "lurk before you leap." If you are new to a discussion group, newsgroup, or chat room, take some time to get the lay of the land before you leap into the activity. What is acceptable in one discussion group may not be acceptable in another. For example, some newsgroups tolerate profanity, whereas others simply will not tolerate it. Some groups encourage a confrontational style, while others expect participants to be calm and respectful. Many newsgroups have FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) that all would-be participants should read and understand before attempting to participate. This will help you avoid the common pitfalls, such as asking "dumb" questions or violating the group's rules of behavior.

Everyone is tempted from time to time to evangelize, to stride boldly into the enemy's camp and throw down the gauntlet. Discussion lists and newsgroups are created for people who share common interests. Posting a derogatory or confrontational message to the group won't win you any friends. In the entire history of the net, no one has managed to do this without looking like a complete idiot.  If you believe you are the one person who will succeed where millions have failed, then you're ready to learn about&

To flame is to post an angry, insulting, or inflammatory message. It's bad manners and rarely appreciated. One flame can lead to a flame war, which could be emotionally devastating to all involved -- particularly if you don. t have the courtesy to spare the innocent bystanders by taking it to private e-mail. Granted, some people are easily offended and can interpret a simple "Have a nice day" as an unprovoked attack on their right to be grumpy if they want to. Just try to keep your head and ignore them. If a flame results from a misunderstanding, then calmly explain what you really meant to say and apologize, if necessary. Also remember that ignoring the basic rules of netiquette can lead to a flame.

Another way to avoid being flamed is to defer to the more experienced and respected participants of a newsgroup or discussion list. Some people just know more about a particular subject than the rest of us.

If someone posts a request for information on a newsgroup, a discussion list, or a chat, it's a waste of everyone's time to reply with a message that says, "Sorry, I don't know the answer to that question." Along these lines, sending a message that says "This is a test" is also unnecessary and not helpful to anyone else who sees it. Also, a seemingly endless string of "Me too" responses gets old very quickly.

Please don't use a discussion list or a newsgroup to make dinner plans with a friend. Nobody else cares. Please be considerate and take it to private e-mail.

I realize that many of you don't have access to the Web, but below are some web-based activities for you to explore.

Check out the following netiquette guides on the Web:

The Net: User Guidelines & Netiquette , by Arlene Rinaldi

Netiquette Home Page (Albion Books)

Using & Understanding the Internet: Netiquette

The Ten Commandments for Computer Ethics , from the Computer Ethics Institute

Take the netiquette quiz at http://www.albion.com/netiquette/netquiz.html .

Send me the results of the quiz.  Use 'Lesson 6' in the subject line of your email to me. (Note - I had some technical trouble with the quiz and couldn't complete it.)  If it doesn't work, do the next assignment.

If you don't have web access, respond with your most annoying behavior that you have witnessed on the Internet.

Crispin, Robert.

Levine, John R., Carol Baroudi, and Margaret Levine Young. The Internet for Dummies , New York: IDG Books Worldwide, 2000.

Rinaldi, Arlene. The Net: User Guidelines & Netiquette (www.fau.edu/netiquette.net). 1998: Florida Atlantic University.

Shea, Virginia. Netiquette , Albion Books, 1994. (www.albion.com/netiquette/index.html)

Modified by permission by UVM Extension System, 2000.