Press Room

Netiquette
by Elaine Lowe

Some people forget their manners when sending email or posting bulletin board messages. People who wouldn't dream of being rude to others in person seem to feel free to send “flames”– angry outbursts or insults – using email or bulletin boards.

Bad manners seem to be connected to the idea of anonymity, rather like rude or aggressive drivers. Except in extreme circumstances, bad manners in cyberspace generally improve when people become aware of the effect they are having.

Guidelines to help keep electronic communications civil:

DO
. Know who you are sending to and respect their idea of what is acceptable.
. Be careful about using irony and humour. These can be easily misinterpreted because there are no visual or oral clues to provide a sense of what is going on.
. Exercise good taste. An email account is not a license to abuse or insult people. Be respectful.
. If you receive a “flame,” avoid a “flame war” by not responding to the attack.
. Be succinct and considerate of the recipient's time and on-line charges. Email messages work best if they're short and to the point. Include a pertinent subject title for the message.
. If you have to communicate a serious or negative message, save them in your draft’s folder. Reconsider sending “difficult” messages only after letting them cool down a few hours or overnight or after first sharing with someone more impartial Once a message is sent, it's gone.
. Be careful with your address book. It's easy to accidentally send a message to the wrong person.
. Briefly describe who you are if the recipient doesn't already know. Include your “signature” – name, position, affiliation, address, phone and fax numbers, and Internet address – to help identify yourself.
. Be aware that email can be archived and is not secure. Internet service providers generally protect subscribers’ email confidentiality, but companies may consider employee office email to be company property. All archived email can be subpoenaed and made public via a court order. Even deleted email can be recovered through data recovery.
. When replying to a message, take the time to edit out whatever is unnecessary from the earlier message(s).
. Check your mail regularly and, when possible, respond quickly to people who write to you. Delete unwanted files regularly.

DON’T
. Don’t use sarcasm. Think very carefully before using email to express anger.
. Don’t send anything that you would mind seeing on the evening news! Email is not as private as you might think and can be read by a wide variety of people.
. Don't send copies of email to people unless they need to be copied. It clutters up their mailboxes, and puts them in an awkward position, feeling they have to do something with the information. It also can be intimidating to the main recipient.
. Don't send attached files unless you have a good reason and only if the person is expecting them. Attached files may carry viruses, clog up the network and take a long time to download.
. Don't send “spam.” This includes most chain letter mail or bogus warnings intended to alarm users. Delete such messages, which are generally hoaxes. Before you panic, verify possible hoaxes at www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html.
. Don’t overuse "Urgent" or "Priority" on your message. Avoid capital letters, which looks like SHOUTING. Use *asterisks* around a word to make a stronger point.
. Avoid using "receipt requested." Some people view it as a sign of distrust. It is okay to use it if you have reason to question whether the person will log on to receive your message.

Below are a few commonly used abbreviations and character expressions that help conserve space, and add personality and humour to messages.

Abbreviations
FAQs frequently asked questions. (Read before you ask questions!)
BTW by the way
FYI for your information
<G> grinning
IMHO in my humble opinion (but is rarely humble)
ROTFL rolling on the floor laughing
LOL laughing out loud
TTFN ta ta for now
TYVM thank you very much
WYSIWYG what you see is what you get

Emoticons (Smileys)
:-) Happy (tilt head to left to see eyes, nose and mouth)
:-( Sad
:-O Surprised
:-/ Skeptical or undecided
:-e Disappointed
:-< Mad
:-D Laughing
;-) Winking
:-Q Confusion
:-p Sticking out tongue

The above article is a compilation of information collected from the following websites: www.fau.edu/netiquette/netiquette.html
www.larrysworld.com/articles/emailete.html
www.computeruser.com/resources/dictionary/emoticons.html
www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html