Netiquette
Just as making your way around a new city requires that you
learn a new set of rules, navigating the Internet dictates that
you adhere to a certain unspoken code of conduct. This online set
of rules -- called netiquette -- ensures that you are not
misunderstood (and that you don't offend anyone) when
communicating online.
The Netiquette Home Page, (http://www.albion.com/netiquette/index.html)
which covers common courtesy online, is a great place to start.
New users will learn the basics, such as how not to shout at
someone in an e-mail (don't use all caps), how not to annoy an
entire chat room (don't hold your finger down on one key and
continuously press enter, called scrolling) and how not to offend
and enrage the e-mail masses (keep the Spam -- or unsolicited mass
e-mail -- to a minimum). The I Will Follow website (http://www.iwillfollow.com/email.htm) maintains
a guide to E-mail Etiquette, which covers basic e-mail do's
(be concise) and don’t’s (repeat messages). The site also provides
interesting facts about e-mail (it is predicted that long-distance
phone bills will go down as e-mail becomes the favored means of
communication), lists of emoticons (like ;) , for example) and
lists of acronyms commonly used in e-mail. International
Intercultural Communication Through Keypals, (http://www.kcc.hawaii.edu/org/tcc_conf97/pres/reitzel.html:)
has useful information on international email etiquette. Remember,
American humor and sarcasm don't necessarily translate into other
languages.
To personalize your messages, you can use smileys — expressions
you create from the characters on your keyboard. A few popular
ones include:
:-) Happy
:-e Disappointed
:-( Sad
:-< Mad
:-o Surprised
:-@ Screaming
;-) Winking
If this is the first time you have ever seen or used smileys,
you may not be able to understand or see the resemblance of the
smiley and the definition. If your turn your head slightly to the
left, you will be able to see the face emoticons. That’s all
there is to it. Soon you will be using emoticons so much you’ll
wonder how you ever got along without them! :)
TIP: Keep your communications to the point. Some people
pay for Internet access by the hour. The longer it takes to read
your messages, the more it may cost them.
To keep messages short, there are some abbreviations you can
use:
<BTW> means "by the way." A <G> enclosed in brackets indicates
grinning. A good one to keep handy in case you're worried about
offending someone is <IMHO> -- In My Humble Opinion. One of my
favorites is <ROTFL>, which stands for Rolling on the Floor
Laughing.
Netiquette isn't something you learn overnight; so don't let
your fear of not knowing cyber-protocol hold you back. Keep in
mind that FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) are very handy
documents to read before asking questions. You should always
consult them whenever they are available.
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