Digital etiquette, or netiquette as its sometimes called, is a basic set of rules you should follow in order to make the internet better for others, and better for you. It’s just as important to treat people with courtesy and respect online as it is in real life. When you instant message, chat, or email someone over the Internet, they can’t see your face to tell if you’re teasing them or saying something in jest. How do you practice good Netiquette? It’s simple – just treat others as you want to be treated – with courtesy and respect. People know these rules but usually do not follow when using the Internet. This includes hacking others computer, downloading illegally, plagiarism and using bad language on the Internet. Not a lot of schools teach students how important it is to follow these rules that everyone knows. If all of us follow this it could make the Internet a better space to share and use.
The internet can be a powerful tool when it comes to circulating opinion or information. Because it can be spread very quickly and is easy to access, the impact it can make can increase the dramatic. Some people are pushing for using their real names as user id to place more responsibility on people when they leave these comments.
Techdirt did a study that showed that many people purposely responded to emails late at work, because replying to quickly implies that they do not have enough work to do. However, it appears the situation may be somewhat different when it comes to instant messaging and SMS (txt) messages. A study in the UK among office workers found that many consider it to be rude if you don’t reply to IM or SMS messages quickly. That’s the difference between synchronous and asynchronous communication. Even if email and text messaging may seem similar, it appears people have different expectations of different types of messaging.
Netiquette (The following information came from tech.blorge.com.)
1. Keep e-mails short and to the point. Office e-mail has a specific business purpose such as getting results, communicating an important fact or getting a response. The chances of quickly accomplishing that purpose increase when your e-mail is short, easy to understand and gets to the point.
2. Write the action you are requesting and topic in the ’subject’ line. Describe what you need the recipient to do and the topic in the “subject” line. Something short and to the point. For instance: “Please review Jones proposal letter;” or “Need blueprint for Jones project.” By clearly identifying the purpose of your e-mail in the subject line, the recipient will quickly know what you are writing about; it’s easy to find; and it separates your e-mail from spam.
3. Check your grammar and spelling. Grammar and spelling are often overlooked, but remember that your e-mail may be going out to a client, a prospective client, your employees or maybe your boss. You want to look smart, not sloppy. Use any built-in spell check before sending an e-mail.
4. Be cautious. Think before you send an e-mail. It’s so easy to hit the “reply” button and write a message. This can be a problem if you act spontaneously. Temper and tone matter. In most instances, once an e-mail is sent, it’s gone. You cannot take it back. So if you have written any harsh words or forwarded an inappropriate e- mail to several colleagues and inadvertently added your boss’s name to the distribution list, once you hit “send” they will be reading it shortly.
5. Remember that e-mail is not private. When you send an e-mail to someone, it goes through many networks before it reaches your recipient and may even leave copies of your e-mail on a server, which can be accessed. It may seem as though you are communicating only with that person (and in most instances you are); however, your e-mail can be forwarded by the recipient to others. A number of companies, including Verizon, offer e-mail encryption products, which encrypt a sender’s e-mail message and digitally sign it. The services also verify and authenticate that the message has not been altered and prevent it from being opened by anyone except the intended recipient. Additionally, users can lock e-mails so that they cannot be viewed by others.
6. Use out of office response, if available, to alert others of your absence. Many e-mail systems and services let you set up an automatic reply advising senders that you are not available. For efficiency of communications, trigger this auto-reply tool when you are away so senders know not to expect a timely response.
7. Keep it strictly business. It is best not to use the business e-mail systems for personal communication. Use your personal e-mail instead.
8. Be courteous, considerate and responsible when writing an e-mail message. Communication via e-mail is often considered informal, but you shouldn’t treat it that way. Remember, your e-mail may be going to your boss, your clients, your prospective clients, your colleagues. Be courteous and reply in a timely manner. It’s good to have a signature in your e-mail so the recipient can easily contact you. Additionally, it clearly identifies you and your company. Before e-mailing a large file, it’s wise to alert the recipients to be sure they want the file and in case they need to make room for it.
9. Keep your computer virus free. Lastly, make sure your computer is virus-free because you don’t want to be the person sending everyone a virus.
The last but most important rule is “respect others as you way you want to be respected.”
- Don’t change peoples account if you know there password and don’t change peoples computer background if they are not looking.
- you should not try to send viruses to other peoples computers, because it dose not really help you and it annoys other people.
- Dont hack electronic devices such as i pods, computers, etc
Digital Citizenship 