Netiquette Rule 10: Be Forgiving of Other People's Mistakes

Everyone was a network newbie once. And not everyone has had the benefit of reading this book. So when someone makes a mistake -- whether it's a spelling error or a spelling flame, a stupid question or an unnecessarily long answer -- be kind about it. If it's a minor error, you may not need to say anything. Even if you feel strongly about it, think twice before reacting. Having good manners yourself doesn't give you license to correct everyone else. 

If you do decide to inform someone of a mistake, point it out politely, and preferably by private email rather than in public. Give people the benefit of the doubt; assume they just don't know any better. And never be arrogant or self-righteous about it. Just as it's a law of nature that spelling flames always contain spelling errors, notes pointing out Netiquette violations are often examples of poor Netiquette. 

(Source: Rule 10-- The Core Rules of Netiquette)

Netiquette Rule 9: Don't Abuse Your Power

There are people in cyberspace have more power than others. There are wizards in MUDs (multi-user dungeons), experts in every office, and system administrators in every system. 

Knowing more than others, or having more power than they do, does not give you the right to take advantage of them. For example, sysadmins should never read private email. 

(Source: Rule 9- The Core Rules of Netiquette)

Netiquette Rule 8: Respect Other People's Privacy

Of course, you'd never dream of going through your colleagues' desk drawers. So naturally you wouldn't read their email either. 

Here is a cautionary instance happened in relation with this rule.

 

The case of the snoopy foreign correspondent

 

In 1993, a highly regarded foreign correspondent in the Moscow bureau of the Los Angeles Times was caught reading his coworkers' email. His colleagues became suspicious when system records showed that someone had logged in to check their email at times when they knew they hadn't been near the computer. So they set up a sting operation. They planted false information in messages from another one of the paper's foreign bureaus. The reporter read the notes and later asked colleagues about the false information. Bingo! As a disciplinary measure, he was immediately reassigned to another position at the paper's Los Angeles bureau. 

The moral: Failing to respect other people's privacy is not just bad Netiquette. It could also cost you your job.

(Source: Rule 8-- The Core Rules of Netiquette)

Netiquette Rule 7: Help Keep Flame Wars under Control

"Flaming" is what people do when they express a strongly held opinion without holding back any emotion. It's the kind of message that makes people respond, "Oh come on, tell us how you really feel." Tact is not its objective. 

Flaming is a long-standing network tradition (and Netiquette never messes with tradition). Flames can be lots of fun, both to write and to read. And the recipients of flames sometimes deserve the heat.  

But Netiquette does forbid the perpetuation of flame wars -- series of angry letters, most of them from two or three people directed toward each other, that can dominate the tone and destroy the camaraderie of a discussion group. It's unfair to the other members of the group. And while flame wars can initially be amusing, they get boring very quickly to people who aren't involved in them. They're an unfair monopolization of bandwidth.

(Source: Rule 7-- The Core Rules of Netiquette)

Netiquette Rule 6: Share Expert Knowledge

The strength of cyberspace is in its numbers. The reason asking questions online works is that a lot of knowledgeable people are reading the questions. And if even a few of them offer intelligent answers, the sum total of world knowledge increases. The Internet itself was founded and grew because scientists wanted to share information. Gradually, the rest of us got in on the act. 

So do your part. Despite the long lists of no-no's in this book, you do have something to offer. Don't be afraid to share what you know. 

It's especially polite to share the results of your questions with others. When you anticipate that you'll get a lot of answers to a question, or when you post a question to a discussion group that you don't visit often, it's customary to request replies by email instead of to the group. When you get all those responses, write up a summary and post it to the discussion group. That way, everyone benefits from the experts who took the time to write to you. 

Sharing your knowledge is fun. It's a long-time net tradition. And it makes the world a better place. 

(Source: Rule 6-- The Core Rules of Netiquette)

Netiquette Rule 5: Rule 5: Make Yourself Look Good Online

Know what you're talking about and make sense

Pay attention to the content of your writing. Be sure you know what you're talking about -- when you see yourself writing "it's my understanding that" or "I believe it's the case," ask yourself whether you really want to post this note before checking your facts. Bad information propagates like wildfire on the net. And once it's been through two or three iterations, you get the same distortion effect as in the party game "Operator": Whatever you originally said may be unrecognizable. (Of course, you could take this as a reason not to worry about the accuracy of your postings. But you're only responsible for what you post yourself, not for what anyone else does with it.) 

In addition, make sure your notes are clear and logical. It's perfectly possible to write a paragraph that contains no errors in grammar or spelling, but still makes no sense whatsoever. This is most likely to happen when you're trying to impress someone by using a lot of long words that you don't really understand yourself. Trust me -- no one worth impressing will be impressed. It's better to keep it simple. 

(Source: Rule 5-- The Core Rules of Netiquette)

Netiquette Rule 4: Respect Other People's Time and Bandwidth

The word "bandwidth" is sometimes used synonymously with time, but it's really a different thing. Bandwidth is the information-carrying capacity of the wires and channels that connect everyone in cyberspace.  When you accidentally post the same note to the same newsgroup five times, you are wasting both time (of the people who check all five copies of the posting) and bandwidth (by sending repetitive information over the wires and requiring it to be stored somewhere). 

Rules for discussion groups

 

Rule 4 has a number of implications for discussion group users. Most discussion group readers are already spending too much time sitting at the computer; their significant others, families, and roommates are drumming their fingers, wondering when to serve dinner, while those network maniacs are catching up on the latest way to housebreak a puppy or cook zucchini. 

To whom should messages be directed?

In the old days, people made copies with carbon paper. You could only make about five legible copies. So you thought good and hard about who you wanted to send those five copies to.

 

Today, it's as easy to copy practically anyone on your mail as it is not to. And we sometimes find ourselves copying people almost out of habit. In general, this is rude. Before you copy people on your messages, ask yourself whether they really need to know. If the answer is no, don't waste their time. If the answer is maybe, think twice before you hit the send key.

(Source: Rule 4: Respect other people's time & bandwidth)

Netiquette Rule 3: Be Sure to Know Where You are in the Cyberspace

Netiquette varies from domain to domain

What's perfectly acceptable in one area may be dreadfully rude in another. For example, in most TV discussion groups, passing on idle gossip is perfectly permissible. But throwing around unsubstantiated rumors in a journalists' mailing list will make you very unpopular there. 

And because Netiquette is different in different places, it's important to know where you are. Thus the next corollary: 

Lurk before you leap

 

When you enter a domain of cyberspace that's new to you, take a look around. Spend a while listening to the chat or reading the archives. Get a sense of how the people who are already there act. Then go ahead and participate. 

(Source: Rule 3- The Core Rules of Netiquette)

Netiquette Rule 2: Adhere to the Same Standards of Behavior that you Follow in Real Life

In real life, most people are fairly law-abiding, either by disposition or because we're afraid of getting caught. In cyberspace, the chances of getting caught sometimes seem slim. And, perhaps because people sometimes forget that there's a human being on the other side of the computer, some people think that a lower standard of ethics or personal behavior is acceptable in cyberspace. 

Be ethical

Don't believe anyone who says, "The only ethics out there are what you can get away with." This is a book about manners, not about ethics. But if you encounter an ethical dilemma in cyberspace, consult the code you follow in real life. Chances are good you'll find the answer. 

Breaking the law is bad Netiquette

If you're tempted to do something that's illegal in cyberspace, chances are it's also bad Netiquette.

This is a book on manners, not a legal manual. But Netiquette mandates that you do your best to act within the laws of society and cyberspace.
(Source: Rule 2-- Adhere to the Same Standards...)

Netiquette Rule 1: Remember the Human

The golden rule your parents and your kindergarten teacher taught you was pretty simple: Do unto others as you'd have others do unto you. Imagine how you'd feel if you were in the other person's shoes. Stand up for yourself, but try not to hurt people's feelings.

In cyberspace, we state this in an even more basic manner: Remember the human. 

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.

The message of Netiquette is that it's not acceptable. Yes, use your network connections to express yourself freely, explore strange new worlds, and boldly go where you've never gone before. But remember the Prime Directive of Netiquette: Those are real people out there.

Netiquette & Its Core Rules (Internet Etiquette)

The internet has its own culture, Netiquette. The cyber etiquette and digital manners between users are the rules of netiquette. They are cultural norms for status updates, email messages, privacy settings, and lists. Internet users are human beings, so Netiquette is human, it takes into account the context of how information is shared. This applies the human condition to the content of the data.

Netiquette, a combination of network and etiquette, is the social code of the internet because the internet is a network and etiquette is a social code. Internet etiquette, is centered around data and its use. The types of data are: text, audio, graphic, and video. Each website supports these types of data to some degree. Since internet use is new and increasing there are new words to accommodate its use, cyber words. Netiquette is a cyber word. (Source: Netiquette)

Core Rules of Netiquette (The 10 Commandments of the Internet):

• Rule 1: Remember the Human

• Rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life

• Rule 3: Know where you are in cyberspace

• Rule 4: Respect other people's time and bandwidth

• Rule 5: Make yourself look good online

• Rule 6: Share expert knowledge

• Rule 7: Help keep flame wars under control

• Rule 8: Respect other people's privacy

• Rule 9: Don't abuse your power

• Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people's mistakes

(Source: The Core Rules of Netiquette)

Internet's Role in Modern Era

The modern era has been now extremely advanced and well-developed and the basic reason for this development is actually the launch of the internet and its applications which have provided the individuals with the easiest routine in their daily lives. 

The internet has changed the face of the lives of people, turning them completely into the modern and latest lifestyle with its developments. Today, instead of the newspapers, the people use the internet to access the e-news which provides with not only the news papers completely but also various different news channels from all over the world. Even the live video news from the news channels can be accessed through the net, overpowering the other media, even including the television.  

The modern developments through the internet have also widened the opportunities for business and professional developments. The need to advertise the products of any business companies are no more a major problem, as the companies can develop their own website and information regarding the products to convince the customers wit their works. 

There are also several open opportunities of making money through the internet, with the most common profession being the web site development with the increasing demand of web-development personals used to develop the websites to promote their business and companies. 

Internet is indeed the major advancement in the modern era, enabling the common people to sit at home and rule the world.

(Source: Role of Internet in the Modern Era)

The Use of Internet

Internet has been the most useful technology of the modern times which helps us not only in our daily lives, but also our personal and professional lives developments. The internet helps us achieve this in several different ways.

For the students and educational purposes the internet is widely used to gather information so as to do the research or add to the knowledge of any sort of subject they have. Even the business personals and the professions like doctors, access the internet to filter the necessary information for their use. The internet is therefore the largest encyclopedia for everyone, in all age categories.

The internet has served to be more useful in maintaining contacts with friends and relatives who live abroad permanently. The easiest communication means like the internet chatting systems and the emails are the best and the most common for the maintaining contacts with the people around the world.

Not to forget internet is useful in providing with most of the fun these days. May it be all the games, and networking conferences or the online movies, songs, dramas and quizzes, internet has provided the users with a great opportunity to eradicate the boredom from their lives. 

Internet is also used to upgrade the internet and use special software to work on the projects and documentation works as the internet enables the user to download a myriad of different software for a variety of different purposes, making it much easier than buying the costly software cds.

(Source: Use of Internet)

What is Internet?

The internet in simple terms is a network of the interlinked computer networking worldwide, which is accessible to the general public. These interconnected computers work by transmitting data through a special type of packet switching which is known as the IP or the internet protocol. These networks enable the internet to be used for various important functions which include the several means of communications like the file transfer, the online chat and even the sharing of the documents and web sites on the WWW, or the World Wide Web.

It is always mistaken said that the internet and the World Wide Web are both the same terms, or are synonymous. Actually there is a very significant difference between the two which has to be clear to understand both the terms. The internet and World Wide Web are both the networks yet; the internet is the network of the several different computers which are connected through the linkage of the accessories like the copper wires, the fiber optics and even the latest wireless connections. However, the World Wide Web consists of the interlinked collection of the information and documents which are taken as the resource by the general public. These are then linked by the website URLs and the hyperlinks. Therefore World Wide Web is one of the services offered by the whole complicated and huge network of the internet. 

The use of IP in the Internet is the integral part of the network, as they provide the services of the internet, through different layers organization through the IP data packets.

(Source: What is Internet?)