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Internet Manners
Netiquette
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What is Netiquette?

Simply stated, netiquette is Network Etiquette - the do's and don't of dealing with other people online. There is something about sitting and typing to a computer screen that sometimes makes people forget that there are real living, feeling human beings somewhere else in the world reading your messages.

The internet has developed a culture that is completely unique. It is easy for a new user to offend others by simply not knowing the conventions and protocol of dealing with people online. This is intended as a simple guide to help newbies learn some of the rules about what is considered polite and what is not. It can mean the difference between making wonderful new friends, or making enemies.

1. If you wouldn't say something to a person's face, then don't say it to them online. For one thing, there is a real live person on the other side of that computer screen that could be hurt by what you have to say. And for another thing, those words can come back to haunt you later and make you look bad. Remember anything you type out and send can be stored somewhere - and once it is, you have absolutely no control over it.
    
2. Read before you post messages. Many places have a Code of Conduct or Terms of Use, or a Rules/Guidelines page, or a list of FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) posted for new users to read. People who ignore site guidelines risk the wrath of other users. It's not just that people don't like to answer the same questions over and over again, though. By not reading a guidelines page, you are showing a lack of respect to the people who obviously took the time and effort to put it together.
    
3. Get to know a group of people before you begin to post messages to them. Learn what type of postings are acceptable and what are considered rude.
    
4. Don't spam. Spamming includes sending messages that are unrelated to a newsgroup topic (especially advertisements for other sites or products) and posting multiples of the same message.
    
5. Try to keep your postings brief and easy to read. Most of us are spending too much time online already. A long posting that meanders for a long time before it gets to the point is annoying.
    
6. Don't use fonts that are hard to read, and remember that people can only see your font if they have it installed on their computer as well - otherwise it just resorts to a default. And please, please use line spaces to seperate ideas into paragraphs instead typing one big block of text.
    
7. Remember that the use of all capital letters is considered to be the online version of yelling at people. It's also more difficult to read all capital letters. You are likely to get some nasty replies to your posts if you insist on typing in this manner. If you are typing in all caps because of a vision problem, then there are several options available to increase the size of fonts on your own computer that do not affect how your posts go through on message boards.
    
8. Be kind when others make mistakes online. Remember, you were new to the internet once, yourself. Cut newbies a break and don't give them a hard time for simple mistakes. You might risk alienating someone who could have been a good friend down the road. If a person makes a major faux pas, or often makes the same mistakes, it's kinder to send them a private message than to jump all over them in a public forum.
    
9. Do not take things from other people's web sites without permission and post them elsewhere online. This is not only considered rude, but also could be a violation of intellectual property laws which could land you in a whole heap of legal trouble.

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Page last updated January 26, 2008