Netiquette
Netiquette is a short form of network etiquette or Internet etiquette.
Social etiquette in real life is ingrained into our social life, although etiquette in
technology, colloquially referred to as netiquette, is a fairly recent concept. It is a
term used to refer to the unofficial code of policies that encourage good behavior on
the Internet which is used to regulate respect and polite behavior on social media
platforms, online chatting sites, web forums, and other online engagement websites.
The rules of etiquette that apply when communicating over the Internet are different
from those applied when communicating in person or by audio (such as telephone)
or videophone. It is a social code that is used in all places where one can interact with
other human beings via the Internet, including text messaging, email, online
games, Internet forums, chat rooms, and many more.
It can be a challenge to communicate on the Internet without misunderstandings
mainly because input from facial expressions and body language is absent
in cyberspace. Therefore, several rules, in an attempt to safeguard against these
misunderstandings and to discourage unfriendly behavior, are regularly put in place at
many websites, and often enforced by moderation by the website's users or
administrators.
Ten rules of internet etiquette :-
Rule 1: Remember the Human :-
When you are online, it is sometimes easy to forget the human. That is,
the people you are interacting with online are real humans and not disembodied
usernames or profile pictures. While it brings so many benefits, the internet can
often dehumanise other people, especially when you are interacting with
someone you do not know personally. For this, remember, it is important to
remember the human. You should never say something to someone online that
you would not say to him or her in person. It is also useful to remember that
online interactions are nearly always recorded and backed up. If you act
inappropriately, these recordings will serve as evidence against you.
Rule 2: Be ethical :-
In life, people generally follow the law. It can however be easy to let your
ethics slip when online. Illegal streaming of movies, illegal downloading of
music and copyright infringement is still breaking the law. It is the online
equivalent of shoplifting. These activities are a huge loss of revenue for artists
and companies. Artists, companies, internet providers and law enforcement
agencies are continuing to prosecute people who illegally access and/or their
material. Breaking the law is bad netiquette.
Just like any other decisions we make, what we do online has ethical
implications. These ethical choices are not necessarily associated with law, but
the decisions you make online demonstrate your ethical stances. For example, if
you use a program like AdBlocker, you are cutting off the revenue streams of
the websites you visit. This includes small and independent websites just as
much as it affects larger corporations. Think carefully about what kind of digital
citizen you want to be!
Rule 3: Know where you are :-
Netiquette varies from website to website. What is acceptable in one
environment is not acceptable in another. For example, the way you behave on
university websites and discussion forums will be very different to how you
behave on a social network like Facebook. One good piece of advice comes
from Shea (2011) "lurk before you leap". When you approach a new website,
watch and monitor how people communicate and interact. Once you have
observed their behaviour and have an idea of what is acceptable feel free to join
in!
Rule 4: Respect other people's time and data limits :-
When you post anything online, write an email or share a post it will take
other people's time to read. Shea (2011) argues "it's your responsibility to
ensure that the time they spend reading your posting isn't wasted". It is
important that you direct messages to the right people. With modern
technology, it is too easy to send a message to everybody in your contact list.
Instead, you need to spend time focusing your message and sending it to the
relevant people. Social networks can help you achieve that by focusing your
contributions towards appropriate networks. Facebook is great for personal stuff
whereas ResearchGate is better for academic discussions.
When considering data limits - or bandwidth (the information-carrying capacity
of the network), it is important to acknowledge storage and network speed
limitations. This issue is still very relevant as people may be accessing the
internet via dial-up (slow), mobile networks (variable), broadband or fibre optic.
If you are sending something, you need to be conscious of how the receiver will
access the file. Even with ultra-fast fibre optic, large files can take some time
and people need the capacity to store what they have downloaded. You can save
people's data limit and time by being considerate with what you send or share.
Compress files where appropriate, ensure you only send things across once and
send it to the people who need it.
Rule 5: Make yourself look good online :-
Make sure you are careful with what you share. It is always advisable not
to share anything embarrassing, illegal or inappropriate. People you have not
even met may look you up online. Make sure you set a good impression.
Always ensure that what you write and share is understandable and
grammatically correct. It makes it hard for others to read your work if it is not
communicated properly. It generally helps to avoid swearing, but if you feel the
need it may be an idea to use euphemisms or asterisks to filter it out; e.g. f***.
Online interactions can be a great leveller. Unless you share such personal
information, attributes like your gender, weight, general appearance, name,
religion and race will be unknown to those you interact with. You can take
advantage of this anonymity.
Rule 6: Share expert knowledge :-
Sharing is one of the principles behind the majority of internet services. If
you are knowledgeable in an area then you have something to offer! Share what
you know and it will help other users. You can share your experiences as part of
this - both positive and negative. If you have made any mistakes, sharing these
can help prevent others from doing the same. If you ever ask questions to other
users, it is good practice to post a summary of the responses. This enabled
everyone to benefit from answers and does not require each individual to do the
same synthesis.
You should never post anything disingenuous online. In the online environment,
it is very easy for untruths, errors and mistakes to become accepted as fact and
propagated. You have responsibility to ensuring the accuracy of your
contributions. If you are sharing opinion or ideas, make sure it is clear to your
audience.
Rule 7: Keep disagreement healthy :-
People are always going to disagree and that is healthy. Such
disagreements can be about heated issues like politics, religion and philosophy
or they can be relatively trivial. When involved in any such a debate, it is
important to be respectful of the other people involved. Never reduce the
discussion to personal issues and avoid inappropriate language. If you are going
to provide negative comments, ensure they are constructive and useful.
Rule 8: Respect other people's privacy :-
When you are networked to someone on a website like Facebook or
LinkedIn, you may be given privileged access to information about him or her
and what he or she shares. You need to ensure you do not breach anyone's
wishes by sharing any of the content they have made available to you. It is also
worth mentioning that you should not use anyone else's computers, mobile
devices or accounts without their permission.
Rule 9: Don't abuse your power :-
If you are an administrator or facilitator for any online environment,
make sure you do not abuse the privilege of access that your position may give
you.
Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people's mistakes :-
People will make mistakes when they are new to online environments.
Everyone has to start somewhere, so try and be forgiving of other's mistakes.
