NETIQUETTE

Definition Network etiquette Netiquette is a set of rules for behaving properly online.

“When you enter any new culture -- and cyberspace has its own culture -- you're liable to commit a few social blunders. You might offend people without meaning to. Or you might misunderstand what others say and take offense when it's not intended. To make matters worse, something about cyberspace makes it easy to forget that you're interacting with other real people” Virginia Shea http://www.albion.com/netiquette/introduction.html

Communication on the internet is very quick, and very easy Communication on the internet is very quick, and very easy. So it can be a real case of act in haste, repent at leisure! If you remember one thing, it should be to think before you write anything!

Shouting People who type with the 'Caps Lock' on, and type ALL IN CAPITALS ARE CONSIDERED TO BE SHOUTING, which is very rude in almost any environment!

Remember the human “Humans exchanging email often behave the way some people behind the wheel of a car do: They curse at other drivers, make obscene gestures, and generally behave like savages. Most of them would never act that way at work or at home. But the interposition of the machine seems to make it acceptable” Would you say it to the person's face? When you communicate electronically, all you see is a computer screen. You don't have the opportunity to use facial expressions, gestures, and tone of voice to communicate your meaning; words -- lonely written words -- are all you've got. And that goes for your correspondent as well. When you communicate through cyberspace -- via email or on discussion groups -- your words are written. And chances are they're stored somewhere where you have no control over them. In other words, there's a good chance they can come back to haunt you. Never write whilst angry

Be Ethical You are a professional first and foremost Don’t jump to conclusions Follow your Code of Professional Conduct Don’t plagiarise someone else’s work

Lurk Before you Leap Know where you are Professional forum/chat forum/facebook/blog etc may all require a different style of communication and delivery

Joking around Be careful when using humour. It is important to remember that tone of voice often plays an important role in letting people know that you are making a joke. Because people can't hear your voice they may think you are being sarcastic. Some people use slang such as LOL (laugh out loud) when joking online.

Make yourself look good You won't be judged by the colour of your skin, eyes, or hair, your weight, your age, or your clothing. You will, however, be judged by the quality of your writing. Spelling and grammar count! Know what you are talking about and make sense

In summary Anonymity vs the real you Treat others as you would like to be treated Everything you write and put out on the web is a reflection of you.