NETIQUETTE-WHAT IS IT?
What is it? Is it something that you think about a
lot? Well, to be honest, you really shouldn't have to
think about it a lot. It is just an extension of
common everyday manners, with some obvious changes
made for the media.
There are a lot of things to do on the internet. You
can surf all day long and never run across the same
site, but I am here to tell you that can get pretty
boring after a short while. You can keep in touch with
your friends and family, which is pretty darn
convenient, unless your whole family isn't on the net,
like mine...(just can't get them on it!) Or you can
become involved in the internet community. For the
most part, that is where 'netiquette' come in. After
all, your family knows you and will know whether or
not to ignore the 'rude' things you say.
Get involved in a 'community?' you may ask?
Yes...there are, easily, an infinite number of online
communities. People with common interests ultimately
band together, sometimes intentionally, sometimes not.
LOTH is an online community, PSP has an extensive
online community, and that is just the beginning. Once
people find others of common interests, they have
various ways of keeping in touch and learning from
each other. One is a newsgroup. To be honest, that
is my WEAK area, because I have never belonged to one,
but I do know the gist of how they work. Internet
users that want to share their knowledge or files,
join a newsgroup. That is one thing that is very hard
to 'accidently' join. I have stumbled across a
mailing list or two, but not a newsgroup. Newsgroups,
by their very nature, are exponential. They pretty
much 'feed' upon themselves. It is kind of like a
mobile bulletin board. Instead of the YOU going to
the postings, the postings come to you. But when you
are preparing to post, think first.
When you join a newsgroup, the first thing that you
want to do is wait and watch. See how things are done,
how messages are posted, if there is a lot of
'flaming' done, etc. There are those out there who
would just LOVE to point out how 'stupid' something
was, that you just said. Those are the kind of people
who validate themselves by belittling others.
Is what you have to say pertinent to the thread of
'conversation'? A 'ME TOO' type of post fills up space
and time, and in some countries, they do not have the
privilege of '19.95 unlimited connection time.
Are you responding, angrily, to something that someone
else has said? Stop, wait, and observe. There are
people out there that have NOTHING better to do than
to 'plant' inflammatory posts and start a 'flame war'.
They like to do it, that is something they enjoy, and
you fall right into their hands by 'attacking back'
Also, if you DO have something to say, that you think
will contribute to the thread of conversation, it is a
good idea to 'cut and paste' that part of the thread
that you are referring to and make it part of the
responding post. While the poster may have been very
serious about what he or she posted, it could have
been a couple of weeks ago, or one of a hundred that
the poster was very serious about, and if you don't
put in part of the original message, YOUR message may
not make much sense.
Like I said, newsgroups are exponential and you may
well find yourself overwhelmed with the volume of
mail. Make sure, before you subscribe to one,
especially the first one, that there is a way
out...that you know how to get OUT of the newsgroup.
Another place where netiquette is important, are the
bulletin boards that you may join. The only ones that
I, personally, go to, are the PSP ones, but there are
a bunch out there, you can be sure. Like I said,
newsgroups and bulletin boards are very much the
same, except that newsgroups have the potential of
being quite a bit larger.
One place that netiquette is VERY important, in my
eyes, is email. In email, as in everything, you should
never say anything that you wouldn't actually say to
the person. There are way too many people who use the
'facelessness' of the internet to be rude and
inconsiderate. Exercise manners in everything that you
do. I do have a couple of tips for that too.
Number one in my book is BCC: That is Blind Carbon
Copy. When you send email to more than one person,
unless they all know each other, ALWAYS use this. It
suppresses the list of email addresses that an
unscrupulous person can use in many ways. What I do,
is mail it TO: myself and BCC: it to everyone else.
What if what you had to say was SO proufound that all
your friends forwarded it to all their friends and NO
ONE used BCC: I have, many a time, gotten a forwarded
mail with about two inches of message and a few FEET
of email addresses. And if it is forwarded like that
to you and you MUST forward it yourself, CLEAN IT UP!!
Don't add to it!
And then again, many of the same things that apply to
newsgroups, with the exception of spamming. While you
CAN spam in bulletin boards and newsgroups by posting
something WAY off the topic or trying to sell
something (and believe you me, SOMEONE will tell you
about it!), to do it with a mailing list, is much more
personal and still wrong. Think first, would you want
someone to do what you are about to do, done to you?
(Did that make sense?) :-D I am attaching a few sites
with some pretty good info, take your time, bookmark
them, and read them.
The Netiquette Homepage!!
The Net: User Guidelines and Netiquette - Index!!
About Netiquette !!
Jerrye Franks-Smith
March 28, 2003
There is a form there to better serve you. Good Luck and have fun!!!
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