Netiquette

Netiquette: Respectful Communications Online

Our communication with others is governed by social conventions, many of which we  honor unconsciously.  These conventions help smooth our personal interactions and foster social cooperation.  In online environments, these conventions may be overlooked or become inapplicable, and new communication modalities require the evolution of new norms.  

The following list of do's and don'ts can help overcome the loss of traditional conventions of communication when we're online.  The list also reflects emerging norms.

1. Identify yourself in all communications--but keep signature lines brief.

2. Avoid taking discussions off-topic with posts not closely related to the topic at hand.

3. Aim to minimize the effort required to read a discussion post or thread (Keep your message in the body of your post rather than in attachments.  For content of more than a few hundred words, attach a document file while providing a summary in the body of the posting.)

4. Maintain common standards of professional communication, being careful to underscore language that could be misunderstood---such as expressions of humor or irony.  In our courses, emoticons are considered appropriate and helpful. 

5. Avoid using distracting fonts(fonts) or cases--such as hard to read fonts or lines in ALL CAPS.  

6. Don't ever post anything into an online course, or an e-mail, that you'd be embarrassed to see printed on the front page of the New York Times.

7. Do not forward or repurpose others' material without their prior written consent.

8. Focus debates on ideas, not on people.  No ad hominem attacks.

9. Sexist, racist or any otherwise hostile or discriminatory language will not be tolerated.

10. Check for tone before submitting a post.  Ask for clarification before reading ill will into a comment you encounter.

11. Forgive mistakes.  Help foster a cooperative and supportive learning environment.