Social Online Protocols

and

Netiquette

Social online protocols (sometimes called 'Netiquette' which means 'Network etiquette') are 'Rules governing socially acceptable behaviour'.

The Internet is an anarchic place: that means there is no central authority, no electronic Mum who makes the rules and enforces them. The rules are developed and enforced by the common consent and cooperation of the people who use the Internet.

Such rules are devised for fairness, safety, and fun. If you break Netiquette rules, it's like breaking the rules you made up for backyard cricket. The others will dislike you and will probably never let you play again until you cooperate.

You're not being really clever by ignoring Netiquette - you're just making an insufferable pig out of yourself.

If you're rude to your mother, you'll probably get your mother's Special Treatment, which varies from mum to mum but is best avoided.

If you're rude to your friends, it's far worse because they won't be your friends much longer.

If you're rude online, you'll find yourself ignored, harassed or flamed. Flaming is an angry, insulting attack on someone. If you're really unlucky, you might find yourself being targetted by very clever and vindictive people who can make your life a living hell : have you ever been mailbombed, had your computer hacked, been subscribed to a few thousand junk mail floods, or have someone pretend to be you and fake some really horrible public messages? It has happened. Don't let it happen to you.

Just as in the face-to-face ('F2F') real world, it's easy to be rude - accidentally and deliberately. It's the deliberate or avoidable rudeness that will get you into hot water.

Newbies

Newbies are new users - especially those who keep making mistakes. Newbies tend to be rude accidentally because they don't know any better. Watch any five-year-old child in a supermarket : "Mummy, why is that man so fat?"

There is nothing wrong with being a newbie - for a while. Everyone had to start somewhere, but the secret is to unbecome a newbie as soon as possible.

Tips for newbies:

You are not the centre of the world. Neither are you 3 times more intelligent than everyone else you deal with online. Neither are the rules only meant for everyone else, and you have a magical exemption from them.

Think before you speak, especially when your temper is up. An old piece of advice my dear old mum gave me was: If you write an angry letter, wait until the next day before you post it. This applies even moreso to email and live chat because it's so easy to send the regrettable comment so quickly. And once sent, it can't be withdrawn.

Learn the rules before you say or do anything you will regret. Newsgroups, for example, regularly post FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) that give the rules and manners expected of the users of groups. For Dog's sake, read the FAQ and obey it. Otherwise you will be flamed mercilessly. Each part of the Internet - such as email, newsgroups, websites, sharing files, real-time chat etc - has its own particular netiquette.

Experienced internet dwellers may tolerate a newbie's honest mistakes - for a while. They may even help you by telling you how to do things properly. Listen and learn. If you show no sign of cooperating with the rest of the group, they will soon make your life unpleasant.

Lurk and watch before you speak. See how things are done. Imagine you are at dinner with a foreign family: watch what they do, get a feel for what is acceptable. Do not stick chopsticks up your nose and do walrus impersonations.

Be polite. Yes, just like mum always tried to teach you. Say "please". Say "thank you". The world is not there to serve you as if you were some special prince or princess.

Remember that politeness varies a lot from place to place. Sure, calling your mates "dags" might be fine, but telling a stranger from another country that he resembles dung hanging from a sheep's bum just may be misinterpreted. It's better to just not swear at all.

Similarly, supposedly "witty" political, religious, racial or sexual comments may cause anger or distress to many people.

The golden rule for rudeness is: "Would I say this to their face?" If the answer is 'no', do not say it.

Be considerate.

Consider how your actions and words will affect other people. How would you like them to do the same thing to you?

Some examples of being considerate:

1. Do not be rude (see above). If in doubt, imagine you're talking to your boss at work.

2. Don't SHOUT. When online, using CAPITAL LETTERS implies shouting.

3. Don't assume everyone lives where and how you do. You are potentially talking to an international audience who may not understand your local references, slang or big words. Many people might not speak English as their first language.

4. Don't waste other people's money. Every email, every newsgroup post must be downloaded and paid for. So don't post stuff you know is irrelevant.

5. Don't waste other people's time. Sending 'joke' emails, virus warnings, funny pictures to people who don't want them is a real inconvenience to them. Many jokes can be offensive; many virus alerts are simply wrong; "funny" pictures can be offensive or just another stupid email the recipient has to delete.

6. Never sign anyone else up for newsletters, "special offers", mailing lists etc. If something is so great, tell the person about it and let them decide for themselves.

7. Do everything within your power to make sure your computer is free of viruses.

8. Never send large email attachments without asking first. This especially applies to programs.

9. If you are replying to an email, include the "quoted text" of previous discussion. Sending an email that just says "Yes" will be meaningless to someone who may deal with hundreds of people and emails every day. On the other hand, be sure to "snip" (delete) irrelevant passages to keep the email as short as possible.

10. If you suspect your "tongue-in-cheek" comment may be misinterpreted, use "smilies" or emoticons to indicate your mood.

Read up on smilies - remember to turn your head to the left to read them.

Usenet, the part of the Internet that contains newsgroups, is a place people gather to share information and have fun. A newsgroup post (message) is just like an email, except it is public. It is especially important to observe netiquette. A mistake in an email can affect one person : a goof in a newsgroup post can affect thousands of people.

0. NEVER EVER post binaries to non-binaries groups. Binaries are any file that is not pure text, such as pictures (JPG, GIF, PNG), songs (MP3), sounds (WAV), movies (MPEG, AVI, DIVX), programs (EXE, COM). If you break this rule, the non-binary group members will really flame you badly. You see, if a non-binaries newsgroup traffics in binary files, the managers of the news servers may well remove the group. It will hurt everyone who uses the group.

1. LOOK FOR A FAQ before you post anything.

2. LURK AND LEECH for at least a few weeks before posting anything, including questions. Find out what's welcome or taboo first.

3. Learn how to use YOUR computer, YOUR chosen software and basic Internet tools like search engines and shareware sites. While others are willing to help out, don't expect to be spoon-fed.

4. Read your Internet Service Provider's and/or news server's FAQ's. Some actions may get your internet connection cut by your ISP.

5. DON'T SHOUT unless you mean it.

6. CONSERVE BANDWIDTH. In other words, be brief. All Usenet resources are limited. The ever-increasing demands on news servers have led to ISPs reducing the amount of time a particular post will stay online before it is removed. Wasting bandwidth is the Usenet equivalent of littering - it hurts the whole community. In binaries groups (which share pictures, music etc) it causes the pictures/songs you want to stay on your news server for a shorter length of time.

Bandwidth wasters are:
- Posting large multimedia files (avi, mpg) to a picture newsgroup.
- Reposting files that are still on the servers because they were just posted.
- Posting software that is already available via the Web or FTP. In such cases, don't post the binary - give a URL so people can get it for themselves.
- Posting off-topic posts, such as recipes.
- Posting questions when the answers are already right in front of you.
- Multiple, simultaneous posts of the same request.
- Cross-posting. If you cross-post to more than four groups at once, news server and/or ISP are likely to dub you a spammer and cancel or block your posts. Really, no cross-posting at all to these groups are recommended. Cross-posting could lead to complaints to your ISP or news service.
- Flame wars. Be aware that what you write will be seen worldwide on thousands of servers by thousands of people. Use e-mail whenever possible.
- Trolling, which leads to flame wars. These usually start with an inflammatory or controversial remark intended to lure responses and create arguments.
- HTML, VRML, XML, Java Script, Mouseover Event, and other signature attachments. - Spamming (see below).
- "Me too" posts. Quoting a long message and adding the words "Me too" to the bottom.

7. Be polite. If you have a problem with a poster, reply in a respectful manner. There is no need to be rude and asking nicely is much more likely to get you what you want.

8. DO NOT FLOOD. Binaries newsgroups take up a lot of storage space on the news servers, so most ISPs and news admins (the people who run newsgroup servers) put strict limits on how much space a particular newsgroup can take up on their server. For every new post that arrives, older ones must be deleted to make room. If you flood a newsgroup by sending hundreds of pictures, for example, you may wipe out many other messages in the group before people get a chance to read them. In some newsgroups, the retention of messages is only a couple of days because so many new messages are arriving. Flooding is even worse when the attachments are not relevant to the group.

9. Each newsgroup has a charter which defines the purpose and aims of the group. You must obey the group's charter. "Off-topic" posts are posts that are irrelevant to that group.

Even the sleaziest, nastiest and most vile and disgusting newsgroups have strict charters that govern what sort of sleazy, nasty, vile and disgusting posts may be sent. Off-topic sleaze will be attacked.

If you must say something, go to the right group and say it. There is bound to be a group that is just perfect for your question or message... find it!

WARNING

Going to a group like (Click the warning before clicking the following link) alt.fan.monty-python to discuss your cat's health problems will not be appreciated by anyone.

If you really can't find a newsgroup that already covers your favourite topic, you might be brave enough to create your own newsgroup. Warning: it takes effort, time, study and a few brains.

There are a hundred other Netiquette issues not covered in this page. For more details, you can visit many highly-regarded Netiquette sites such as:

The Virginia Shea book of Netiquette

Netiquette for Business

Online Netiquette Uncensored

'Official' Netiquette Discussion Paper