Internet manners

(This article was originally published in The Tahoe Daily Tribune)

Just as in your real everyday life, manners are important on the Internet as well. Although it may seem like you can say anything to anybody for any reason (and you can, actually), there may still be repercussions to such actions. Getting slammed (or spammed) with angry emails will be the likely response from many, or you may be barred from your favorite chat room. You can save yourself a large amount of grief if you follow a few simple rules.

1. In all likelihood, you will not argue anybody to your position.
2. DO NOT CAPITALIZE ALL LETTERS. On the Internet, all capitals signify you are yelling and will be treated as such.
3. Using all small letters will indicate you are mumbling.
4. Pause (and count to 10) before you send anything. This brings up the next point.
5. Everything you send is permanent someplace. People can post it, keep it
for later use or whatever so BE CAREFUL. Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell.
6. Since what you write is the only way people will know who you are (they can’t see your expressions, the color of your skin, size of your waistband, or anything else unless you post your picture on the net someplace), your words are the only way to communicate. Poor spelling indicates you are not very bright. The way to fix this is use a spell checker, but be aware this tool will not check usage, tense or syntax. You should still read what you have written before hitting the “send” button, because if you don’t, the horse is out of the barn.
7. Look before you leap. This is simple common sense. When entering a new chat room, watch (I mean read) for awhile to ascertain the mood and discussion. Jumping in too soon may be embarrassing and defy any credibility you might want later.
8. Use symbols sparingly. There are common symbols which attempt to add emotion to your words. If you think something might sound sarcastic, you may put a smiley face at the end of the sentence, like this :-)
Here are a few more just for fun:
;-) equals wink
:-( equals frown
:-> equals sarcastic
>:> equals devilish
:’-( equals crying
:-o equals surprised
:’) equals crying happily
:-0 equals Uh-0h
:-@ equals screaming
:-& equals Tongue-tied
>:-> equals mad
<:-I equals dunce, like in, “sorry, but I don’t understand”
:-D equals a big smile

8. Check the word “Netiquette” in one of the major search engines like Yahoo! and you will find locations that will expound on many of these principals.

The bottom line is this: Be pleasant, try to get along, and don’t give your opinion unless you are either asked for it or it seems otherwise appropriate.

When you go online, you take on a persona not unlike the personality you give when you interact with other people. Given time and effort, you may become as popular (or more so) on the internet because of your insight, compassion, willingness to listen, or just because you are a good person. This is the way we all make friends, whether in the Real or the Virtual world.

Rick Langford is founder of Tahoe Mall, The Tahoe Net and Cache-World