Welcome and Netiquette
Rule 1: Remember the Human
Practice the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Remember, your written words are read by real people, and the words you are read are written by real people-- all interactions are deserving of respectful communication.
Rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life
Ask yourself would you behave rudely to someone face-to-face? Before you press "submit," ask yourself, "Would I be okay with this if I was telling this person face-to-face?"
Rule 3: Know where you are in cyberspace
"Netiquette varies from domain to domain." (Shea, 1994). Your context and audience matter - What you text to a friend may not be appropriate in an email to a colleague.
Rule 4: Respect other people's time and bandwidth
Electronic communication takes time: time to read and time in which to respond. Make your written communication meaningful and to the point, without extraneous text or superfluous graphics or attachments that may take forever to download.
Rule 5: Make yourself look good online
Put your best foot forward. Keep in mind that others will note the quality of your writing, so keep the following tips in mind:
Always check for spelling and grammar errors
Know what you're talking about and state it clearly
Be pleasant and polite
Rule 6: Share expert knowledge
The Internet offers its users many benefits; one is the ease in which information can be shared or accessed and in fact, this "information sharing" capability is one of the reasons the Internet was founded. Remember to post resources and references about your subject matter.
Rule 7: Help keep flame wars under control
What is meant by "flaming" and "flame wars?" "Flaming is what people do when they express a strongly held opinion without holding back any emotion." (Shea, 1994). Don't feed the flames; extinguish them by guiding the discussion back to a more productive direction.
Rule 8: Respect other people's privacy
Depending on what you are reading in the virtual world, Facebook page, or an email, you may be exposed to some private or personal information that needs to be handled with care. Just as you expect others to respect your privacy, so should you respect the privacy of others. Be sure to err on the side of caution when deciding to discuss or not to discuss virtual communication.
Rule 9: Don't abuse your power
Just like in face-to-face situations, there are people in cyberspace who have more "power" than others. They have more expertise in technology or they have years of experience in a particular skill or subject matter. Just remember: knowing more than others do or having more power than others may have does not give you the right to take advantage of anyone. Think of Rule 1: Remember the human.
Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people's mistakes
Not everyone has the same amount of experience working in the virtual world. And not everyone knows the rules of netiquette. At some point, you will see a stupid question, read an unnecessarily long response, or encounter misspelled words; when this happens, practice kindness and forgiveness as you would hope someone would do if you had committed the same offense.
Adapted from The Core Rules of Netiquette (Links to an external site.) Shea, V. (1994). Core rules of netiquette. Netiquette (Online ed., pp. 32-45). San Francisco: Albion Books.