Netiquette
Chat Groups Every web surfer sooner or later ends up in a chat room or a newsgroup or on a discussion board. Communicating on the web is different than communicating with people in person. No one can see your facial expressions, or hear the tone of your voice. Learning proper netiquette is a good way to help you network effectively with your fellow webmasters while getting your point across the way you intended it. Be sure to check out the Do's and Don'ts for more Netiquette tips.
Lurk. The first thing you should do when entering a new chat room or posting to a new board is to sit back and read the posts. This allows you to get a feel for the room or board and the discussion. Most chat groups have the grizzled veterans who have been posting for a while and may call that room thier home, casual visitors and Newbies. Lurking will help you identify who's who and what's acceptable in that chat. There is nothing worse for a first impression than posting something like "Hey any of you guys know what the %$#$ is wrong with Giant Server today - they really suk" only to find out later that the owner of Giant Server is a regular board poster. And that profanity is frowned upon by that particular board!
Newbie. Whether you are new to the net, or just new to that chat group, you are a Newbie. As a newcomer to the group you need to remember that it will take some time to become a trusted friend to the other posters and how you conduct yourself will determine your acceptance into that group. Some groups are very Newbie friendly while others may barely tolerate or even completely ignore newbies. The chat boards at Web Overdrive are all very newbie friendly, and Tom's Newbie Booster has been specially set up to welcome newbies and introduce them to webmastering.
If you're a veteran, be patient. You were a newbie once. Politely give newcomers advice if they appear to be doing something inappropriate.
Introduce yourself. After you have lurked for a while and gotten a feel for the group, politely introduce yourself. A simple "Hi, I'm Aarnie Aardvaark and I'm been lurking here a while. Just thought I'd introduce myself and say hello" is a good way to get your feet wet. Always be polite and try not to ramble on for several screens full of personal history!
Express yourself. It is difficult to express shades of meaning in a chat. No one can see your face or hear your tone of voice. Misunderstandings can be avoided by using two things. Acronyms - such as LMAO (Laughing My Ass Off) or IMHO (In My Humble Opinion) can add this "voice inflection". Emoticons - such as ;>) can soften a statement that could be taken harshly or used to show everyone you are just kidding (j/k). Above all - be polite and do not SHOUT BY TYPING EVERYTHING WITH THE CAPS LOCK ON. You'll be lucky if all you hear is "Hey Aarnie, ya moron, turn off your caps lock!"
Watch what you say. Remember two things about any interaction in a chat. First - anything you write could possibly be seen by everyone on the net. Think BEFORE you post. Once you hit the enter/submit key it's too late to take back anything you said. Second - someone, somewhere is going to disagree with, misunderstand or be offended by something you say.
OK, you've introduced yourself and now you're starting to post on a regular basis. You're feeling pretty comfortable with your new friends and all of a sudden you make a post and get a response that starts out "Listen Aarnie, ya little #@^%%@% pinheaded bongo....." What happened? You are headed for a flame war.
Flames. Any violent expression of disapproval in a chat can be termed a flame. When several posters start answering back and forth in a violent fashion such as "Aarnie ya ^#%##^, your mother shoulda put you out in the trash when you were 4" "Well, I always enjoy a battle of wits with an unarmed person" you are in a flame war. Misunderstandings, over reactions and hurt feelings are generally the end result and flame wars are not usually a fun place to be.
If you can not avoid a flame war, try to remember these tips.
- Disagree with the idea, attack it rationally. Never attack someone personally.
- Don't purposely start a flame war by attacking or offending someone in the group or an accepted idea or behavior of the group. "I think spamming newsgroups with my new program is the best method of advertising I can use and you idiots are too stupid to realize that" is going to get you a lot of attention. It could also get you kicked out of the group!
- THINK before you post. If you are angry or hurt, take some time before you answer. Be sure you are clearly expressing yourself and saying exactly what you mean to say - politely before you hit that enter/submit key. Read your post at least twice before you submit it. And remember - a fast walk around the block not only helps cool your temper but also gives you a chance to excercise away from the keyboard!
- Apologise. You may be right, but if you are in a flame war with a veteran who calls that board or room their home, apologising may be a very good idea and it can help you gain a lot of respect. Being right at the cost of being ignored or banned from a chat can be a high price to pay. And of course if you discover that you were wrong, apologise profusely and immediately!
American-centric. For all the Americans reading this - remember we are only a percentage of the netizens in the world. WWW stands for WORLD Wide Web. Sometimes a chat member will use phrasing or express ideas that are not familiar to Americans. First Amendment lectures and American values may not be of any concern to others. The net offers a wonderful opportunity to learn from other people and other cultures, but everyone needs to keep an open mind for that learning experience to take place.
E Mail. Much of the Netiquette tips also applies to email. There are some additional tips for email below.
Beware what you write. Never e-mail anything that you wouldn't want to see published somewhere else. Your messages can be forwarded anywhere by anyone who gets them. Don't put confidential, personal or legally sensitive information in e-mail messages.
Think before you act. The immediacy of online communication begs for irrationally instant outbursts. Written notes have greater permanence than intemperate utterances. Wait a few minutes (or hours or days) before firing your missiles. If an offensive remark is made, agree to disagree. Don't flame and don't get into a flame war.
Be concise. Keep your email short, brief and to the point. Make sure it clearly expresses your thoughts and ideas.
Don't send chain letters. They're not cute or funny to everyone. Most people don't like getting junk mail, and if you're sending e-mail chain letters, you're sending junk mail. If you get one, delete it, don't forward it.
Don't Spam. Mail (or chat, or ICQ) messages that are sent to many people at one time as an unsolicited message is called Spam. Chain letters can be considered spam. Unsolicitated advertising is considered spam. It is universally hated and many recipients of spam think up new and unusual methods of causing physical harm to the sender.
Don't spread hoaxes. Never pass along warnings about Internet viruses or any other threat without first checking with the U.S. Energy Department's hoaxes page. Passing along a hoax -- especially if you copy the message to everyone you know -- is a common trap for beginners. Be the one who knows how to end the hoax instead of perpetuating it.
Do not type in all capital letters. It's hard to read completely capitalized messages. Writing in all capital letters LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE SHOUTING. If you need to emphasize a word or two, try using **asterisks like this.**
Write and type well. Pay attention to style, spelling, grammar, syntax and all the other rules of written communication that you were supposed to have learned in school. It does make a difference how your message is perceived. Check it before you click the send button.
Be complete. Writing an e-mail is not the same as talking to someone on the phone or in person. Include context and be specific. Explain things that you think might be obvious because it might not be obvious to the recipient. Take the time to re-read your message before you send it, particularly if it's business-related. Poorly written e-mails are a bad reflection on you.
Don't overuse acronyms. Veteran e-mailers should remember that not every user is familiar with the e-mail medium. BTW means "by the way" to those in the know, just as BRB means "be right back." The lingo isn't universal. Don't use acronyms just to be cool.
Use line breaks between paragraphs. This makes the message easier to read online and when it has been printed on paper.
Fill in the subject line. Many people who receive dozens of e-mail a day appreciate seeing something in the subject line because it helps them prioritize the e-mail and find it after it's been filed. Keep the characters in the subject line short, because many e-mail applications only display the first 20-30 characters in the subject field.
Keep replies short. Typically, the default setting on e-mail applications is to quote an entire e-mail message when replying. Before sending your reply, delete the irrelevant portions of the original message; just leave the portion that you are replying to. This keeps the communication short, and it takes the recipient less time to retrieve your e-mail. Put your reply at the of the message, so the recipient doesn't have to scroll to the bottom to find it.
Send the entire URL. When sending a Web address (or URL), include the "http://" prefix. Without the prefix, some applications do not enable the recipient to click on the link to go to the Web page right away. They have to copy-paste your address and add an "http:" to the front end.
Sign your work when necessary. Signature lines are useful, particularly for work-related communication. Long signatures (anything more than nine or 10 lines) are excessive, particularly after a one- or two-sentence e-mail. If you send a short e-mail and it's not business-related, consider deleting the signature.
