NETWORK ETIQUETTE (NETIQUETTE) 
As the name implies, netiquette is the electronic version of good manners. Or,
how to conduct yourself on the Internet. Computer manners are important. There
are millions of people connected to the Internet and the number continues to
grow. The actions of one person can affect many others. 

As with most manners, the underlying principle is the Golden Rule. Do unto
others as you would have them do unto you. When applying the rule, put yourself
on the same level as the other person. For example, although you might have a
very fast connection to the network and you may have a powerful computer system,
think of how your actions affect others who are using average to slow speed
connections and older, less capable systems. However, this doesn't mean that we
must always accommodate the least capable person connected to the net. We should
aim for the majority of users.

RESPECT. 
The advice is simple, treat people the same way as you would treat them in
person. Follow the same standards of politeness as you do in every other aspect
of life. Respect people's feelings and their right to privacy. Think carefully
before forwarding an e-mail message. They may not want their words or their
contact information (name, email address, etc.) distributed further without
their knowledge. In general, don't send personal information about living
persons without their permission. 

IMPRESSION. 
On a computer network you are often judged by the quality of your written
communications. So take care about how you present yourself. For example, your
e-mail messages should be typed properly with capitals and spacing in the right
places. Grammar and spelling should be checked before sending. Messages you send
to mailing lists are distributed to the general public. They are also archived
and made available for future researchers. So, your messages may be read years
From now by one of your relatives or perhaps by your future descendants. Think
about that before you select the send command.

LURK. 
Before you join in a discussion, read some of the existing messages to get a
feel for the material being discussed. Try searching the message archives to get
a feel for what has already been discussed on the topics you are considering
writing about.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) are a good source of background information on
the nature of the discussion group. FAQs save you having to ask a lot of basic
questions that others have heard too often already. 

DO'S AND DON'TS. 

 * Do choose your words carefully. Mailing lists are public mediums. You have no
control over where your words go after you send your message and you can't edit
them after they are sent. 

 * Don't write anything that you wouldn't say to a stranger face-to-face. 

 * Do re-read your message carefully before you send it. 

 * Don't write e-mail messages in a hurry (or a temper).

 * Do quote from the original message when replying.

 * Don't quote excessively. Some e-mail programs automatically quote the whole
message when you use the reply facility. This is wasteful and can also be
confusing. Quote the relevant portions only. Delete extraneous material.

 * Don't write anything that isn't suitable for all ages, sexes, religions,
races, etc. Remember, this is a public forum.

 * Don't overuse the 'cc' function. Many people send copies to multiple mailing
lists when the message has only marginal application to most of the lists. Try
to focus and send the message only to the lists for which it is directly
relevant. 

 * Don't send "thank you" messages to an entire mailing list when you are only
thanking a few people. 

 * Don't let brevity triumph over clarity. There's no point in being brief if
your message is not understood by the people you want to communicate with.

 * Don't try to impose your personal philosophy about how the world, or the
mailing list, should work on others. There is room for a diversity of attitudes
and philosophies. Try to be tolerant. If you must complain, do it nicely. 

WRITE EFFECTIVELY. 
Good e-mail is like good writing in other mediums. Guidelines for composing
effective e-mail messages include: 

 - limit it to one subject per message; 
 - give a descriptive subject heading; 
 - when the subject changes, change the subject line; 
 - be concise, write short sentences; 
 - use bulleted lists to break up complicated text; 
 - quote selectively from the original e-mail when replying; 

Quoting from the original message means including an excerpt from it in your
reply. The quotation should be marked or set-off in some way to clearly
distinguish the quote from your text. This is often done automatically in email
using angle brackets (>). But, you can manually select, cut, and paste the words
you want to quote and use the old-fashioned technique of actually enclosing the
words in quotation marks. 
Some email programs automatically quote the whole message when you use the reply
facility. This is wasteful and can be confusing. Quote the relevant portions
only. Delete extraneous material. Also, take care not to quote private or
sensitive information. 

Messages can be made more concise using three letter acronyms (TLAs) to
abbreviate common expressions. Some common ones are 'FYI' (for your
information), 'BTW' (by-the-way), 'IMO' (in my opinion), 'WRT' (with respect
to), 'NRN' (no reply necessary) and 'TIA' (thanks in advance). 

Person-to-person communication provides visual and aural clues to your meaning
through facial expressions, body language, or voice inflections. We have limited
ways to imitate these techniques using 'emoticons' or 'intensifiers' in email
messages. 

Emoticons (also known as 'smileys') are faces viewed sideways that can be used
within your messages to help convey feelings. The main ones are ':-)' to
represent a smile, ':-(' to represent unhappiness and ';-)' to represent a wink. 

Intensifiers provide emphasis. These include **enclosing your words within
asterisks** or USING UPPERCASE. Use uppercase with care - it's considered
shouting on the 'net. 

Don't overdo these techniques. Too much quoting is wasteful, confusing, and
makes it less likely that your message will be read. Too many smileys can be
irritating. Too much emphasis using intensifiers gives the impression of
hostility. Like most things in life, moderation is best and excess is poor form.

ORGANIZE. 
Most email programs provide a filing system for storing messages. Use it. 

Create separate folders for regular correspondence, projects, or forums that you
receive mail from regularly. Keep your inbox tidy so that it only contains
messages needing action. 

Create filters in your email program to automatically route messages from
mailing lists into dedicated folders. This technique is useful for any category
of mail you receive regularly.

Delete messages after they are no longer needed.

Purge sent messages periodically.

Check for new email at least once per day and go through all your folders at
least once per week. 

Read and write email offline. You don't need to be connected to read or write
email. You only need to be connected to send and receive email.

Use an email program that allows automated retrieval of messages.  For example,
AOL allows users to create "flash sessions" which can automatically connect,
download new email, then disconnect. Almost all email programs and service
providers allow similar automated sessions capabilities. If you don't download
your email often enough from your service provider's system, you may develop a
clog of messages. If a clog develops, then your incoming email may be rejected. 

DATE & TIME. 
Your email program will use the date and time on your PC's clock to stamp your
messages. So make sure your computer's date and time are correct. 

THE LAW. 
There are laws relating to copyright, data protection, computer misuse, libel,
etc. Use good judgment and obey such laws. With regard to copyright, although
many resources are free, some aren't and shouldn't be copied without prior
permission of the copyright owner. The "Free Use" doctrine allows certain
limited uses. If you have questions on such subjects, look at some of the
numerous web sites which offer guidance and opinions about them. Or, use this
simple rule. When in doubt, don't.

SIGNATURES. 
Make sure that you include your email address in the body of your message so
that people can communicate with you. While this is normally provided
automatically in your message header, is helps to include a short "signature" at
the end of the message. A signature is a small piece of text which provides
contact information and sometimes a favorite saying. Signatures should be short,
usually between 2 to 5 lines, and limited to text only. For example: 

+------------------------------------------------------+
| John Doe                        [email protected] |
| P.O. Box 123, Anycity, USA         Tel: 555-555-5555 |
| http://my.service.com/Doe/         Fax: 555-555-5555 |
+------------------------------------------------------+

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