Netiquette is the etiquette or good manners that one observes in cyberspace. It is a set of rules that people who are online have to follow. In cyberspace we don’t meet people face to face and so new users may not know how to conduct themselves properly when interacting with others. This may give rise to mistakes and misunderstandings. Virginia Shea’s book, ‘Netiquette’ explains the rules of conduct in cyberspace. She identifies 10 important rules to be a good netizen or net citizen.
Rule No. 1 is ‘Remember the Human’. People who are online should remember that they are interacting with real people. They should not say things which offend others. Some people, emboldened by the fact that they are not speaking face to face, may say things that hurt the other person. This is bad netiquette.
Rule No. 2 says that we should display ethical behavior when we go online. One should not transgress the laws of society and cyberspace, thinking that one will not get caught.
Image Source : uni-goettingen.de
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Rule No. 3 is ‘Know where you are in cyber space’. By this, Shea means that one should employ discretion in online interactions by adjusting our responses or behavior according to the kind of people we happen to be interacting with.
When one enters a new domain in cyberspace, one should take some time to look around and listen to the chat or read archives to get a feel of the people who are already there. Once we feel comfortable enough to participate we can reveal our presence.
Rule No. 5 is ‘Respect other people’s time and bandwidth’. Nowadays people have less time than before so we should not waste it needlessly by sending them emails and posts that they may not be interested in. It is rude to copy people on one’s messages unthinkingly.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Shea’s sixth rule exhorts us to make ourselves look good online. She doesn’t mean makeup and wardrobe but the quality of our writing. That is, we should pay attention to grammar and spelling. Also, we should be polite. Rule No. 7 says, ‘Share expert knowledge’. When we post a question to a discussion group we may get many responses from experts. We could summarize the answers and post it to the discussion group so that it benefits everyone.
The eighth rule requests netizens to ‘Help control flame wars’. Flame wars refer to a series of angry letters between two or three people. As they can ruin the friendly atmosphere of a discussion group, good netizens should try to douse such flame wars and restore peace. Rule No.8 asks us to respect other people’s privacy by not reading their emails.
Rule No. 9 is, ‘Don’t abuse your power’. In cyberspace too some people have more power. They may be experts in an office or system administrators. Such people should not take advantage of their power. The tenth rule says that we should forgive other people’s mistakes. If someone makes a mistake or asks a dumb question, be tolerant or point it out politely.
These rules underscore the fact that cyberspace is not a lawless territory where one can do anything. It comes with its own code of behavior and netizens have a responsibility to uphold it.