Netiquette - Should we pay more attention to this?

[Thighboots2]

The following is not directed at any particular person - we all can do with a refresher course from time to time - me included.

Having been around at the birth of the internet, the first places people interacted were the News groups to which you could subscribe. They were totally ASCII based. No fancy graphics the like of which we have theese days.

In those early days some amazing flame wars broke out due entirely to the inability of people to see the emotion of the person writing the initial message that started a flame war. Sometime they were highly amizing to the bystanders to watch the battle being played out in words. So the smiley came about - ) to indicate when you were smiling, ( sad :oP sticking your toungue out and so on. There are loads of them of course.

At the same time the term Netiquette was coined - Net Etiquette - to guide people how to behave on the news boards. See the main problem is that all you are looking at right now is text. Communication involves not only the words, but also the sound of the word as it communicates the emotion of the speaker and also facial expression, gestures aka body language. In a face to face conversation, this all helps the listener to judge the speaker's intention behind the words. Telephone conversations are harder because the visual cues are missing. The hardest of all is the written word. Carefully done, the writer will convey their meaning without offence. Which is what we should all aspire to do.

It seems to me that on occasions, teddy bears get flung out of prams far too easily when others don't see why, and that is because we each read the written word and interpret it our way.

You may like to read this website dedicated to Netiquette. It provides invaluable advice on how to behave in this world of the written word.

http://www.albion.com/netiquette and read the Core Rules section.

Maybe this doesn't apply to you, and you have perfect netiquette and no need for a refresher course, but only you can judge if your netiquette is upto scratch.

Finally, If I have upset anyone with the content of this post, then please accept my humble apologies.

Simon.

[roniheels]

Thighboots2... Thank you for your thread and comments. My personal rule of thumb on the internet or email is to try not to get too emotional and try to be as curtious as possible. Depending on the situation, refraining from strong emotions can be difficult. Needless to say, you can pretty well tell one's personality by the responses to these postings. Since I've been participating on this site, I've discovered some very friendly people who share my views concerning high heels. I've tried to express my personal views and especially respect everyone else's views and opinions. I think Richie does a good job of keeping things flowing, yet keeping things civil. I would say for the most part, the majority of participants simply enjoy the gift of gab and colorful written self expression. My apologies for rambling.

[Dan J]

Thighboots2...

I've discovered some very friendly people who share my views concerning high heels. I've tried to express my personal views and especially respect everyone else's views and opinions. I think Richie does a good job of keeping things flowing, yet keeping things civil. I would say for the most part, the majority of participants simply enjoy the gift of gab and colorful written self expression.

Roni & TB2: Well put words - I completely agree.

Dan

[crotchboots-m]

why do we need a coda for that? i just try to treat others on the net as i would in person...treat them with as much respect and dignity that i in turn would expect. seems to work most of the time....

[Firefox]

Yes, most of these "codes" are a waste of bandwidth and usually contain a fair mix of that particular author's personal gripes and preferences, whether it be text speak or swearing, smilies or Caps lock. You only need one rule: "Respect people as you would in real life." 50 pages of text are not needed to explain that

[at9]

You only need one rule: "Respect people as you would in real life." 50 pages of text are not needed to explain that

Absolutely correct. But there are various conventions that are unique to the 'net which may need explanation. For example using ALL UPPERCASE is, by convention, shouting. It's only a convention, not inherent or necessarily obvious. If you're an old time Telex user or computer programmer then all uppercase may seem entirely normal. Smilies are also something that may be misunderstood. Different age groups may perceive things differently too. Notably with "text speak" which can annoy older people but be entirely normal to younger folk. I happen to like good gramer and speeling [sic] but it's hardly essential provided the message is clear. There are additional problems due to the international nature of the 'net. Rememeber the US telephone operator asking the British caller "Are you through?". Fortunately this particular problem has now been abolished by technology.

On the more general point, some people are less socially aware than others and more detailed rules may be of greater use to them. The trouble is that those who most need them are the same people who are least likely to read them.

It's not quite the net but the arguments are similar. Many companies demonstrate their contempt for customers who phone them by subjecting them to multilevel menus and poorly trained staff, some of whom speak a language that is only vaguely related to English. I don't know if the French etc suffer similarly.

[Tech]

You only need one rule: "Respect people as you would in real life." 50 pages of text are not needed to explain that

Thats all well and good, but leaves everything open to "interpretation" which will just lead to arguments over what's good and whats bad.

What about those people who cant speak a single sentance without using expletives in every second word? To them its natural and what they do amoung their friends, but it might not always be appropriate.

What about those who dont respect people at all, what do you tell them when they say they are just following the rules and thats how they behave?

Obviously "50 pages of text" is a bit much, but highlighting the obvious and pointing out guidelines in a page or two is quite sufficient