Netiquette
Internet etiquette, commonly referred to as netiquette, consists of conventions for proper online behavior. Conventions are important in facilitating group interaction and allowing groups to function efficiently, fairly, and in ways that allow individuals to feel good about their participation. By following these guidelines, both in personal communication and in class work with your students, you minimize problems and show others that you are knowledgeable and caring. Learning conventions that guide behavior in daily life are part of the general educational mission and while learning such conventions might also be considered a responsibility of parents the group focus of educational settings encourages attention to guidelines that facilitate productive interaction. Here are some recommendations based on the original work of Shea (1994).
Monitor Your Accounts
If you intend to communicate with e-mail or another form of direct online communication, you should monitor your account on a regular basis and respond to messages promptly. Responding promptly is courteous and lets the sender know the message has been received.
Watch Grammar and Spelling
Proper grammar and accurate spelling should be an obvious expectation for educational applications of CMC. Online messages are often informal, but they still offer students the opportunity to practice good habits. For you, too, spelling and grammar are important; your words leave an impression, especially in the absence of other cues. So take the time to reread your messages before you send them, and encourage your students to do the same. Some e-mail software comes equipped with a built-in spell checker and many computers offer the opportunity to identify misspelled words in any application.
Create a Context for Your Comments
“Go ahead, George. I think it is a good idea.” If you walked up to your friend George on the street and said this, he might be pleased, but he would probably have no idea what you were talking about. The same thing frequently happens online. Someone makes a comment or asks a question. Someone else reads the comment or question and replies. But the passage of time increases the likelihood that the person asking the question will forget what was asked or who was asked to respond. Lack of context is a frequent cause of frustration and misinterpretation in online communication.
The easiest way to establish a context for a reply is to connect your reply to the original message. Most e-mail clients allow the original message to be included in a reply. Usually the best approach is to retain only the sections of the original message that are relevant and merge your new comments with the original comments that prompted your reply. You can preface this section of combined material with a short introduction and explanation.
Compose the Subject Line Carefully
The subject line in an email is the first thing the recipient of your message sees. If the subject or your e-mail address does not attract attention, the recipient may delay reading the message or even delete it. The subject line also provides a context for the rest of the message. With people you do not know, the best policy is to write a subject line that accurately describes the content or purpose of the message. “Question about PEP Grants” is better than “Important Question.” While you can enter a long phrase for the subject, short phrases are generally preferable because the e-mail client may display only the first few words.
Ask Yourself: Would You Say It Face-to-Face?
One way to evaluate messages for appropriateness is to consider whether you would make the same comments in a face-to-face setting. If you would not, because the comments would be considered unnecessarily harsh, the message should be rewritten in less offensive language.
Be Careful with Sarcasm and Humor
Without the benefit of the cues present in face-to-face communication, sarcasm and poking fun at another person can easily be misinterpreted as criticism.
Remember That CMC Messages Can Be Permanent
Once your message is sent or posted to Facebook or another social site, it continues to exist, no longer under your control. The recipient may save it indefinitely or forward it to others. While forwarding without permission is considered inappropriate, you should recognize that almost anyone might see what you have written. If you would not be willing to make your comments public, carefully consider sending them over the Internet.
Listen Before You Speak
You might think that the Internet would be a great setting in which to ask whether you should purchase computer brand X or computer brand Y. True, but don’t assume that this question would be welcomed in all settings. If you ask this kind of question on the wrong mailing list, you will immediately set off howls of protest. Computer users are very loyal to brands, and many lists have tired of the debate over which brand is better.
Another good example involves making recommendations for commercial products. Some lists and chat rooms encourage the exchange of information about books, programs, and services, and some actively oppose it. How do you know what behavior is appropriate? Sometimes the only way is to observe before you participate. This behavior, often called lurking, allows you to become familiar with the topics and communication styles that are acceptable.
Reply to the Proper Person
This guideline sounds obvious, but it is commonly abused. Sometimes the problem results from a simple mistake or the reality that some services make it difficult to spot the origin of a message. Often mailing list participants forget that an e-mail message came from the list and not from the person authoring the message. Attempting to reply to the author results in a message sent to all members of the list. A similar problem can be created by accidentally “responding to all” in response to a message that was sent to some people as a cc. The “sender” can reduce this common problem by including a state such as “please respond to me directly” in a message send to a group. This simple comment is a useful reminder for even experienced users.
See Virginia Shea’s book Netiquette (San Francisco: Albion Press, 1994) for additional ideas. - the online resources associated with this book (selected content)