Good Manners on the Internet!!
On review of some e:mail running back and forth within a close group, recently,
I was reminded that there are some informal rules of "Netiquette" that we all
should pay attention to. Therefore, I am posting this Netiquette page here, with
pointers to other resources on the internet as a reminder to all within my circle
of contacts of some very important guidelines. As much as anything else, so I can
review them from time to time to remind *myself* of the rules of the game. So if
you are among those I have pointed in this direction, please realize that I am first
reprimanding myself for going beyond good practice in some recent e:mail exchanges,
and apologize to one an all for that.
Here is a quote from one of the recognized leaders in providing guidelines for
reasonable internet usage, specifically regarding e:mail conventions:
Netiquette
It is essential for all users on the Internet to recognize that they are
responsible for their own individual actions while using the net.
Netiquette is simply the use of common courtesy and polite
behavior while using the net. Some basic rules of email netiquette
are:
- Check your mail often, delete or download messages as
needed.
- Word your messages carefully to avoid misunderstanding.
- Limit replies and forwarding, it's easy to overdose on email.
Let's Consider that Last Item!
Many of us may have been guilty of getting carried away with the fun of sending
on jokes and funny stories to friends and family. For the most part, the ones
participating in this enjoy the chuckles these provide. On the other hand, there are
I have a number of relatives and friends whose internet connection is solely through
their workplace. Many businesses that have internet connections do not encourage their
employees to use it for any other purpose other than company business. Some could even
get in trouble, not for sending out jokes and funny stories, but *just for getting them*
from someone else, like a well-meaning parent, sibling, cousin, or friend.
I can't speak for anyone else, but I'll tell you what I have decided about this
particular matter. I will *not* send anything conceiveably of a frivolous nature to any
of my internet contacts where the internet connection appears to be through their place
of employment. Why? Undoubtedly the company provides them the internet connection in
order to advance their business interests. They may have dozens of important communications
flowing across their screens daily. They simply do not need to have long lists of jokes
or other non-business matter clogging up their e:mail screens.
But there is another side to this coin. Perhaps our family organization is sending out
information about a Family Reunion; somebody may need some information from the person whose
only internet connection is through their employer's place of business, or a range of other
legitimate reasons for sending them a message. But my advice to all those with whom I
routinely connect on the internet is: "Don't send junk mail to people's worksites." And, if
somebody does not like getting such things at home, either, then don't be offended if they ask
you to cut the trash mail. They are just adhering to good standards of Netiquette, and may
also have very important material flowing through their e:mail, and don't appreciate it being
cluttered up with forwarded jokes that simply have too many headers, etc. For further guidelines,
I have quoted some, and provided links to others that are good to keep in mind:
Here is where the text to be imported gets spliced in
Actions which are routinely
allowed on one network/system may be controlled, or even forbidden, on other networks. It is the users
responsibility to abide by the policies and procedures of these other networks/systems. Remember, the fact that a
user can perform a particular action does not imply that they should take that action.
The use of the network is a privilege, not a right, which may temporarily be revoked at any time for abusive conduct.
Such conduct would include, the placing of unlawful information on a system, the use of abusive or otherwise
objectionable language in either public or private messages, the sending of messages that are likely to result in the
loss of recipients' work or systems, the sending of "Chain letters," or "broadcast" messages to lists or individuals,
and any other types of use which would cause congestion of the networks or otherwise interfere with the work of
others..
Keep paragraphs and messages short and to the point.
When quoting another person, edit out whatever isn't directly applicable to your reply. Don't let your mailing
or Usenet software automatically quote the entire body of messages you are replying to when it's not
necessary. Take the time to edit any quotations down to the minimum necessary to provide context for your
reply. Nobody likes reading a long message in quotes for the third or fourth time, only to be followed by a one
line response: "Yeah, me too."
Capitalize words only to highlight an important point or to distinguish a title or heading. Capitalizing whole
words that are not titles is generally termed as SHOUTING!
*Asterisks* surrounding a word can be used to make a stronger point.
Be professional and careful what you say about others. Email is easily forwarded.
Cite all quotes, references and sources and respect copyright and license agreements.
It is considered extremely rude to forward personal email to mailing lists or Usenet without the original
author's permission.
Be careful when using sarcasm and humor. Without face to face communications your joke may be viewed as
criticism. When being humorous, use emoticons to express humor. (tilt your head to the left to see the
emoticon smile)
:-) = happy face for humor
Acronyms can be used to abbreviate when possible, however messages that are filled with acronyms can be
confusing and annoying to the reader.
Examples: IMHO= in my humble/honest opinion
FYI = for your information
BTW = by the way
Flame = antagonistic criticism
Just because you don't get a message back right away,
does that mean the person didn't receive it? They could have been
on vacation, on a leave of absence, did not feel like answering your
mail, were having a problem with their mail system, had a prejudice with
all people with the same last name as yours...... It is the human
element - and a system forced "receipt" i.e. "you got this, so why aren't
you answering it" - *can* be consider an invasion of privacy.
Generally messages will go through. If an invalid address is specified
in most cases a "postmaster" message will be sent to you. If the message
is extremely important - once again, send a personalized message asking
for confirmation of receipt.
Electronic Mail - Basics
Communicating on the Internet with
Email
Electronic Mail is the most popular application on the Internet.
Email is a powerful communication tool and is usually the first
application mastered by new Internet users. One of the most
valuable features of communicating via email is that it is
"asynchronous," meaning the recipient need not be at his/her
computer in order to receive the message you send. The message
will be stored and available to be read when the recipient is ready to
read it. Email allows you to communicate with people across the
globe just as easily as with people in the next office. Messages can
be directed to individual recipients or to distribution lists.
Distribution lists allow you to communicate with 100's or 1000's of
people by sending a single email message to the list. Email is a fast
and effective way of communicating over the net.
How to Use Email
In order to send and receive email, you must have an account on the
Internet and have access to an electronic mail program. You must
also know the correct Internet email address of the person(s) with
whom you wish to communicate. Some common email programs are
Pine and Elm on Unix machines and Eudora for Macintosh and
Windows. Each program operates differently, but they will have
many of the same features. Some essential features which should be
present in an email program are:
Send mail - ability to send email messages to Internet
addresses
Receive mail - ability to receive mail addressed to your email
account
Reply - respond to messages you have received
Forward - send a message you receive on to another recipient
Save - ability to save messages you have received
Print - ability to print messages you have received
Address Book - ability to store email addresses of regular
correspondents
Anatomy of an Email Address
An Internet Email address will consist of three major parts:
Username
@
Machine Address
nlombardo
@
ecclab.med.utah.edu
president
@
whitehouse.gov
The username is the unique name assigned to the user of an
Internet account. The @ sign separates the person from the Internet
computer where mail is received. The machine address is the
domain name of the Internet host, or mail server.
Anatomy of an Email Message
Each email message has two basic parts, a header and a body. The
header contains information about who sent the message, the date,
time, and subject line. The subject line is an important element in
the email message. Be sure to indicate what your email message is
regarding. This helps the person receiving the message determine its
priority. The body contains the actual text of the message. Here's an
example:
Go back to the Doug Paulson Family ON the NET page, OR
return to the main Homepage
This page last revised March 7, 1998
Direct comments to:
Doug Paulson ([email protected])