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Netiquette
Though the Internet was once described as a town without a sheriff, there
are certain expectations that govern appropriate behavior in cyberspace.
From electronic messaging has evolved a code of good practices known as
"netiquette." The following widely cited rules of netiquette
are adapted from Virginia Shea's book of the same name and apply equally
to emails, chat rooms, and online discussion forums.
Remember the human. You are not communicating
with a machine, but through a machine. You
are communicating with another human being and should conduct yourself
accordingly: you are neither alone nor autonomous.
Be courteous. Adhere to the same standards
of behavior online as you would in a memo, a letter, on the phone, or
face-to-face. Below are some common courtesies to consider.
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Include a respectful address and signature. Your own
name is especially important if your email address does not spell
it out clearly. |
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Use short paragraphs with blank lines between them. |
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Use headings for especially long emails. |
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Avoid flaming, or all caps, which
communicates shouting. |
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Avoid a tone of irony or sarcasm, which can easily be misunderstood.
Use the corresponding emoticons instead (happy :), sad :(, bored
:|, etc.) |
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Reread your emails carefully for errors and omissions. |
Respect another's time and bandwidth. Do not send repeated emails unless necessary. Do not send unnecessarily
large emails with attachments that cannot be downloaded in a timely
manner.
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Emoticons, or characters designed to represent
certain emotions, have developed in tandem with online correspondence
to indicate how the tone of the message is to be understood. For
example, someone might write, "That was a fine point you made
the other day" followed by an emoticon ;) indicating that the
author is being playfully sarcastic. Please note that emoticons
and chat room abbreviations (lol, j/k) should not be used in formal
correspondence. |
Respect another's privacy. Do
not forward emails unless you know that the original sender would not
mind. There may be a good reason a particular email message is not sent
to an individual within a given group or organization. Do not access
or "hack into" another's email accounts without permission.
Do not include material or links to web pages that the receiver may
find offensive.
Be forgiving of others' mistakes.
Not everybody adheres to these rules or practises them consistently.
Also, be tolerant of correspondents who may not have strong typing skills.
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