Over the past several years, a few guidelines regarding the polite, constructive conduct of online communication have become widely accepted. These guidelines are commonly referred to as "netiquette" Netiquette helps to make electronic messages easier to understand by suggesting some conventions for language and usage.
Be Respectful
Someone in the online discussion will say something you don't like. Regardless, always keep your responses constructive.
- Never resort to "flaming" (insults and/or personal attacks). Avoid broad judgments and generalizations.
- Just as you refrain from making personal attacks, refrain from taking challenges or disagreements to your positions personally when they are not meant to be personal. A difference in opinion is not disrespect for you or for your own right to an opinion, it is simply a difference of opinion.
- Only address the content of a person's message.
- Whenever possible, support your views with evidence from readings or your own experiences.
Keep Your Responses On-Topic
If someone mentions something that interests you but does not relate to the discussion, send an e-mail to just that person.
- If you received the message via e-mail, use the reply function, but check to see that you are replying to only the sender's e-mail address, not the address for the class e-mail list.
- If you received the message via a threaded discussion tool, send a message to just that one person using their regular e-mail address or the e-mail feature in WebVista.
Post Messages to the Appropriate Audience
Be sure to post your questions and responses to the appropriate people using the appropriate tool.
If you have administrative concerns, such as questions about due dates or the grading of your papers or tests, send an e-mail message to just the instructor.
Quote Responsibly and Reply Substantially
Include excerpts of the original message when adding your ideas to the discussion.
- When quoting others' e-mail messages, always include their names and, if possible, their e-mail addresses.
- Quote only those portions of a message that set the context for your response rather than the entire message.
- Always weigh whether your comments contribute substantially to the discussion before you post your message.
- Avoid making comments such as, "I agree" or "I disagree," without elaborating. You will frustrate your peers by not adding much to the discussion, yet adding messages to their inboxes.
Keep Your Responses Jargon-Free
Always define terms and acronyms fully before using them.
- The convention for defining acronyms is to spell out the term the first time you use it, then put the acronym in parentheses: for example, Academic and Distributed Computing Services (ADCS). Each additional time you mention this term, use the acronym.
- This rule applies particularly to the use of Internet-related acronyms like BTW (by the way), AFAIK (as far as I know), and IMHO (in my humble opinion). Such abbreviations confuse new Internet users, so please be polite and define these terms in parentheses the first time you use them in a message or don't use them at all.