Tutorial 1: Netiquette

To some, the Internet is a tool, used as a means to an end. Wielded much like an encyclopedia, it is used for research or experimentation, whatever is necessary to complete work. To others, it is a lifestyle, with its own social system and culture. Regardless of your personal opinions, the Internet is, at its most basic, an interface through which we communicate with each other. In the early days of user-to-user communication, many different communities using forerunners to the World Wide Web, such as Telnet and USEnet, made their own rules regarding politeness and decency. They had slight differences, but they shared many similarities and would eventually form the basics of Netiquette. Netiquette is basically the Golden Rule of the Internet; Treat others as you would wish to be treated. Face-to-face this is a very easy to follow, but on the Internet, where there are no non-verbal cues and millions of people communicating with each other, this can be very easy to mess up, whether on purpose or accidentally.

Two of the common types of websites that people communicate with each other through are chat rooms and message boards. In fact, I turned to a popular message board, gamefaqs.com, for assistance with my assignment, lets see what we have so far.

Oh, well, alright then...

These types of websites can be some of most friendly and close-knit communities, they can also be home to some of the more abusive users, who either didn't learn or don't care about the rules of netiquette.

One of the biggest advantages of e-communication over actual communication is you have complete command over what you are saying, so you should never be caught speaking without thinking first. Type out what you mean to say. Then stop, read over what you wrote, and think about it. Are you getting your purpose across? Have you made any clear spelling or grammatical mistakes? Don't let yourself get caught saying something stupid, like this person:

Somewhere there is an editor weeping

When talking with people over the Internet, mind the caps lock. Typing in all caps is the universal Internet code for yelling, and for obvious reason. Consider the difference between this post on a message board:


And this one:


The first one sounds more like a polite request, while the second one carries a tone of anger, demanding rather than asking.

Unnecessary e-mails are the bane of many Internet users. When sending out humorous e-mails en masse, limit it to family and close friends only. I know you probably want to share that video of the cat playing a piano to everyone you know, but Ted from Accounting will likely appreciate it if you leave him off the list.

But he's oh-so delightful.

Don't CC people or Reply-To-All unless absolutely necessary either, because that will just result in extra email clutter, too much even for the people who loved that Keyboard Cat video from the way back times of 2009.

When it comes to gather information, the Internet is one of the greatest tools. However, before you just ask a question on a message boards or Yahoo! Answers, try a quick search. Sometimes the answer can be a lot easier to find than you think.

On the other side of the same coin, if you see someone else asking a question or looking for information that you know, be polite and help them out. After all, you would want someone to help you out if you needed it. But make sure you are right, don't just guess the answer to questions. After all, being misinformed is often worse than being uninformed. And don't respond with off-topic discussion like our "instain mothers" friend from before. The topic isn't about you, so don't derail it.

Netiquette may seem complex or difficult to understand, but really it is pretty simple. Just treat others with respect, and always remember that they can't see or hear you, so be careful with what you say.

Sources:
Keyboard Cat image from Knowyourmeme.com
Yahoo! Answers image from SomethingAwful.com
Message board images self-made from gamefaqs.com