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Net Etiquette
-- An New Zealand view Mind your
Manners
Remember the good old saying: do unto others as you would have them do unto you? Most of
us unconsciously live by that rule. We're polite, we say thank you, we smile and nod and
say hello when we see someone we know. We even say goodbye when we leave - it's all
part of getting on with people.
But on the Internet manners are fast flying out the door. Emails are
sent without a "hello, how are you today?". There's usually no sign of
a "thanks for your time" when we ask, via email, for help. We criticise,
complain and make requests from our isolated computers without the
slightest thought that someone at the other end may be offended by our
bluntness.
The terms "network" and "Internet" don't so much apply to the mass of
cables, copper wires, modems and PCs they connect, but to the people
that use them to connect to each other. It's a community of minds - not
a meeting place for machines, and as you venture into the electronic
frontier it pays to remember this.
Tread carefully
Every page you visit was lovingly, if not skilfully, created by someone,
somewhere. Every email you send and someone will read every smart or blunt remark
you post to a newsgroup or IRC channel. And it may hurt their feelings.
As a small child my parents went to great endeavours to teach me
manners. These manners translate perfectly to the online world. I'm
polite when I meet people for the first time and I would never swear or
SHOUT at a stranger.
Way back when (here she goes again…) I started out on the Internet the
Web was a very grey and dismal place. What was fun was IRC and
newsgroups and here is where the old, and not so old, Net junkies cut
their teeth. Many have heard of The Well, the honoured "network" of
creative, connected minds. This is a place of few pictures and sounds -
it's a silent world, where eloquence, ideas and politeness reign
supreme.
Likewise, the less-revered IRC and newsgroups where I "grew-up" are text only
places. The only limitation to communication is how fast you can type.
Netiquette is vital. In fact, one food out of line and you're history. I
learnt quickly that a smiley face :-) could take the sting out of a
remark meant in jest.
The written word is a great means of communication, but it lacks the
tone and facial expressions that distinguish sarcasm and friendly
baiting from mean and spiteful criticism. In IRC and newsgroups I was
taught "not to SHOUT", to always complete the subject line of an email
message or newsgroup posting and to limit my signature file t four lines
or less.
Shouting is an amusing one - one we probably take for granted. Capital
letters, especially in the subject lines of emails, should be reserved
only for messages such as: THE END IS NIGH - GET UNDER YOUR DESK!! Message subjects like
PLEASE HELP ME!!, no matter how innocent, immediately set my blood pumping and I reach for
the phone to dial 111.Often it's a false alarm, such as why won't this URL work?
With more users coming online for the first time the basic rules of
Netiquette are slowly being lost, and it's becoming a problem -
especially with email.
Email is a great way of communicating, but a recent study by Novell in
the UK showed over half of 1000 workers surveyed regularly received
abusive email. Was it meant to be abusive, or is the problem merely a
lack of manners?
The report says email; "intimidation" came most often from users'
managers and men were more likely to send abusive email than women. The
results show abusive email can increase stress levels, create a
reluctance to engage in one-on-one communication, reduce productivity
and in some cases cause people to resign.
Brevity is essential online. It's no use writing a 1000 word essay to
get your point across, but there are some important rules to follow.
Many are spelt out in Netiquette by Virginia Shea (available online at
www.albion.com/netiquette/) , which gives
some great pointers. The most important are:
Remember the human - there's someone just like you at the end of the
line. Use the same standards of behaviour you use in real life.
Remember where you are - talk of your latest fishing trip is fine in a
fishing newsgroup, but those participating in a heavy-metal discussion
probably aren't interested. It also pays to "lurk" in a group for a
while before you start shooting your mouth off on a topic.
Respect other people's time and bandwidth - don't send unsolicited
advertising junk, the person at the other end is probablty paying to
download it.
Be forgiving - don't jump on people just because they make a mistake,
we're all human.
Share your knowledge - it's a big Web out there and in some respects
we're all newbies.
Keep flaming under control - if you've got an opinion, share it. But
just as you wouldn't go to fists with a stranger in the street, don't
let your online arguments get personal or out of hand.
Above all, be nice to each other. The internet is a community just like
any other.
By Louise Richardson http://www.netguide.co.nz/ |
