Beginners guide to: Good Manners
There are various conventions on the Internet that make it a more
pleasant place to be. By following these guidelines you can help, and
are also a lot more likely to get help when you need it. This is
sometimes called NETIQUETTE, as a contraction of Net Etiquette. Stay
Calm!
Try and keep cool, particularly in the heated discussion
areas. Bear in mind that it is very easy to misread the tone of a
message, and give it a sarcasm that was never intended. Often a smiley
is used to indicate that the writer is joking, it looks like this:
:-)
A smiley is also sometimes called an EMOTICON, and
you can find out more about them here. Read the FAQ
Most discussion areas have
something called an FAQ file, which stands for Frequently Asked
Questions. As you might guess, these tend to cover all the most popular
questions about a subject, including such things as where to find more
information on the Internet, and where to get free software. It is
considered lazy and rude to ask a question before looking at the FAQ
file, which is often a mine of useful information.
DON'T SHOUT!
Beware of leaving the caps lock on when writing e-mail or USENET messages,
and only typing capital letters. It may make things easier for you, but it instantly marks you as
a beginner, and is generally refered to as shouting. YOU CAN PROBABLY SEE WHY! Ask clear questions.
If you
are mailing someone with a question, (and have read the FAQ!), then make
it as easy as possible for them to help you. Make your question as clear
and specific as possible, and if relevant provide as much information as
possible.
Consider the following two versions of a question:
Please Help! I am new to the net and don't know what to do!
Where can I find a good beginners guide to tools for using the net?
I am using a Macintosh computer. Thank You.
The second version encourages a concise and to the point answer, and is
much more likely to get a helpful response.. Don't get offended
easily
There are some very helpful people on the Internet, and
also some very busy people. So don't get offended if you do not get a
rapid reply - no one is obliged to help you out, and some people get an
awful lot of e-mail. Give something back
If you do get a
lot of information back as the result of a question, then you will very
likely also get several e-mail messages along the lines of "I'd like to
know too if you find out" It may be a great help to other to summarise
all the information you receive and tell the USENET group or
mailing list. Many of the helpful guru's out on the net will also
appreciate a short thank you message. Keep a small sig
Many
users like to have a witty quote or saying at the bottom of their
messages, known as a SIG, (Short for signiature). Some also go
way over the top with all sorts of quotations, jokes, favorite
locations on the web, and even pictures done in type. Keep your sig to
4 lines or less. Stay on topic
Always try and be sure you are
asking your questions or leaving messages in the correct place.
Sometimes discussions drift onto new topics, and this is very confusing
for those who were expecting something else entirely. It is also good
manners to live and let live. For example it would not be acceptable for
a scientist to leave critical messages in the astrology discussion group
- the astrology group is for people who DO believe in it. Similarly, it
would not be acceptable for an astrologer to make provocative posts in
the astronomy discussion areas. (There is a separate USENET group called sci.skeptic for this sort of heated confrontation!).
Some
people will also place messages absolutely everywhere with no regard for
it being appropriate. This is generally called 'spamming' after
the Monty Python sketch in which the characters order Spam, spam, spam,
spam, sausage, spam, and spam. Don't let them wind you up
Some childish net users like to deliberately leave messages to wind up
other net users. This is often called 'flame bait'. For example, it is
not rare for someone to drop a message into one of the Star Trek
disussion areas accusing them of not having a proper life. There is no
point in a heated response, as that is exactly what they want, (and they
have probably moved on anyway!).
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