Melinda Cooper's Blog

During week one (1) I learned a variety of things. One that stuck out was Netiquette. I ask, what is netiquette? We can simply say it is network etiquette. It is the etiquette that we use on the worldwide web or as we know it, cyberspace.

Netiquette is a set of rules for behaving and interacting properly online. Netiquette is important because cyberspace has its on culture. Cyberspace doesn’t have explicitly stated rules. To most people they are the unknown or unstated rules. Unless you know the rules you are sure to violate them. If don’t know them you might very easily offend someone. Let me give you a crash course in Netiquette. Probably the most important is, when you type an email or type a blog, don’t type in all caps. IF YOU TYPE IN ALL CAPS, it looks like you are shouting at the person you are writing to. Instead try using *asterisks* to get the point across. Another good rule is to be careful when using sarcasm and humor. You can use emoticons to express humor, i.e. :) would be a happy face, and :( would be a sad face. So, you get the point. Also, a good rule is when talking about a book try using _underscores_ to express the title. So, I have shown you three (3) good rules when it comes to Netiquette.
To learn more Netiquette rules, visit http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html.

Netiquette operates under a system of rules that may not be plainly stated but are expected and enforced all the same. When you enter any new culture you're sure to commit a few social blunders unless you know the rules. Also, you might offend people without meaning to. Or you might misunderstand what others say and take offense when it's not intended. The rules in cyberspace are essentially different than those of everyday life because cyberspace presents such a story like environment. To make matters worse, the common sense of communicating in cyberspace make it easy to forget that you're interacting with other real people.

So, next time you go to type an email, type an instant message, or even write a blog, look over the rules of Netiquette. Make sure you don’t commit the faux pas like a lot of other people do. Make sure you follow the rules of cyberspace. I have listed a few other sites below that I found interesting when learning about Netiquette; I hope you do the same! I am confident we will all follow the *rules* next time we write in cyberspace :)

http://internet.suite101.com/article.cfm/netiquette_guidelines
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netiquette
http://networketiquette.net/