The concept of network etiquette came to us from English - network etiquette. Often there is shortened expression to netiquette. In RuNet, the term "netiquette" is not yet widespread. In order for communication on the network to be pleasant and negotiations to be successful, some principles should be taken into account, as in real life. Network etiquette is a set of rules for communicating on the network, conducting correspondence, mailing, exchanging opinions, knowledge, experience and more.
About the rules
The rules of network etiquette are not much different from the rules in real life. Be polite, carefully listen to (read) the interlocutor, respect his opinion, do not slander, do not be rude.
Speak clearly, concisely and on the topic. Do not engage in skirmishes, do not use mate, try not to make mistakes in message texts.
But virtual communication has its own characteristics, so there are some special points and terms. Let's consider each in more detail.
Offtopic
This term means any message that goes beyond the topic. That is, if in some branch there is a discussion of injection engines, there is no need to try to express your opinion there regarding the last football match and dresses from the new collection.
Offtopics are not approved by the moderators, and you may be prohibited from leaving messages (ban, ban). In some topics, unacceptable statements (offtopics) are clearly specified right away in order to predict the development of the discussion and not let it go beyond the necessary framework.
Flood
The etiquette of network communication prescribes not to spread the flood for a good reputation of the user on the Internet. After all, no one likes the noise, but the “flooders” are just making noise, leaving a lot of meaningless comments like “Cool!”, “Tin!”, “Kaif!” Trying to attract attention. Celebrate what really seemed interesting to you. Let it be a meaningful phrase expressing your opinion, and not "Chic!" Otherwise, the ban is provided to you.
Emoticons
These are funny images for additional emotional coloring of the text, which are now very much online. Each decent site or forum provides users with its own set of emoticons, static or animated. Despite the popularity, you need to use them very carefully. One or two images per message are sufficient. A large number will make the text poorly readable or even deprive it of semantic load.
Trolling
This term also came to us from the English language, where it means fishing for spinners.
In network communication, trolling is the writing of rude, contradictory, provocative messages in order to quarrel, insult, and anger the participants in the discussion.
The person who leaves such remarks, the troll, most often acts secretly and solely for his own pleasure. What matters to him is not the result, but the process - the correspondence itself, the people's reaction to his statements.
Moderators are struggling with this phenomenon, because a confident and active troll can scare away visitors.
The basic rule of network etiquette is politeness. Try to adhere to it always, even if you find yourself in an unpleasant situation (conversation), leave it first, do not succumb to provocations. Do not let you troll.
Literacy and abbreviations
Try to write correctly. Carefully check the finished text. Now there are enough programs and resources to help you with this. Online literacy is politeness in real life. Yes, the Internet already has enough words that are spelled incorrectly, but are perceived as correctly spelled - this is a kind of network slang, but they should not be abused.
In addition to slang words, network etiquette admits generally accepted abbreviations :
- IMHO - my humble opinion.
- LOL is my loud laugh.
- BTW - by the way.
- AFAIK - as far as I know.
- WBR - my best wishes.
- AKA - known as.
- WTF - Swearing.
Netiquette: Email
Correspondence, especially business, is a separate block in the list of communication rules on the network. How to make a competent, pleasant for the interlocutor letter, which he is likely to read and then will have a desire to answer it? And write so that his answer meets your expectations?
- First, introduce yourself. There are enough abstract, general contact details for a pleasant conversation. Indicate your real name, and the correspondence will be fixed. Users are very wary of anonymous emails, often sending them to spam without even reading.
- Secondly, indicate the subject of the letter. It should reflect the content of the message, be bright, concise, concise, arouse interest and desire to read the letter. For example, "Do you dream to relax? A special offer awaits you !", And even better individually - "Sergey Vasilyevich, rest is especially for you!"
- Third, think through the content well. Check the text for errors. Write briefly and to the point; do not pour water. If the message is long, it may not be read. Separate the message into semantic paragraphs, key points can be distinguished in capital letters, but no more than two or three words.
- Fourth, the design should be delicate. Most programs for correspondence support a lot of fonts, colors, pictures, but this does not mean that everything must be used without fail. The interlocutor has such a bright letter can cause irritation or even display incorrectly. Pairs of corporate identity or color are enough.
- Fifth, be moderate in quoting. When there is an active correspondence, network etiquette advises not to erase all previous messages when replying, but also not to forward the entire branch. The best option is to leave the source text and a few of the following, so that the main point of the conversation is clear.
- Sixth, a concise signature. The rules of network etiquette state that the optimal signature size is four lines. Usually they write the name and contact information. Do not confuse the signature and the business card, do not insert pictures, tables and diagrams here. From the signature, the reader must find out who wrote to him and how you can contact this person (you) if you wish.
Newsletters
What is network etiquette? Rules for communication on the network. What are mailing lists? Mass communication. So, even if you send a message to many and possibly completely strangers, you will have to follow some rules.
If it doesn’t matter to you whether those to whom you send letters need your information, this is spam. The concept is very negative on the net. For some time even prosecuted by law. It is better to collect the official circle of subscribers to be sure that your letter will not be thrown into spam, that they are waiting for it.
When composing a letter for a certain circle of people, always fill out the subject line of the letter, the newsletter should be thematic.
Write down additional addresses in the subject "blind carbon copy" (BCC). Any person is not very pleased to be one of tens, hundreds, thousands ... He is pleased with individual attention. You also don’t need to show the addresses of your subscribers.
Do not reply to spam emails yourself. If they bother you, install a filter or contact your provider for help.
If you are sending information, copy directly the text and paste it into a new letter. Do not allow the reproduction of the ">" characters, which automatically appear during forwarding and make the text unreadable.
Do not send heavy files and archives to your interlocutors without asking permission. Many people have restrictions on the weight of incoming letters, and then your message does not reach the addressee, correspondence may be interrupted. Unsolicited archives also arouse suspicion and rejection. Especially if they are self-extracting (.exe).
For personal comfort, set the filter on incoming letters and do not unpack archives from strangers, they may contain viruses.
Network etiquette
Communicating online, you create your own image. The interlocutors know you exclusively by your virtual statements and actions. But behind any machine sits a man who, perhaps, will be your good friend, a good friend in real life. Do not neglect the rules of network etiquette. Be polite, do not spill negative emotions on the audience.
Try to write yourself competently, but not pay attention, especially not point out mistakes to others. If there are a lot of them and they are repeated regularly, write a personal letter to the person with wishes and advice, but do not insist and do not make fun - we all make mistakes sometimes.
Very carefully introduce humor, irony, sarcasm into your messages. They may not be accepted or insult the interlocutor. When developing correspondence, start with very popular or already established phrases and expressions to understand the level of perception of the interlocutor.
Do not be arrogant. Even if you are a great specialist in any field, give polite and detailed answers to beginners, explain the terms and principles, because you yourself once started.