Netiquette for Online Communication

Webster’s dictionary defines “etiquette” as “the…manners…established by convention as acceptable or required…in a profession, or in official life.” With the advent of the Internet and Web, those norms needed to function appropriately in the world of online communication; by extension, “netiquette” was born.

1. It’s a person—not just text on the screen. Online communications are “faceless” in the sense that those communicating can’t see body language or hear voice tones. All we can do is read the words on the screen, and each of us instinctively assigns meaning to those words based on our culture, ethnicity, emotions, and backgrounds—and how our day is going. Often, the meaning we assign is not the meaning intended by the writer. As you write, or read, online remember: There is a person on the other end of the communication—often many people, each with his or her personal interpretation.

• Don't write things you wouldn't say face-to-face.
• Remember that each reader is a human whose culture, ethnicity, language, and background include different points of reference from your own.
• Use sarcasm rarely, only after due deliberation, and only with a reader who knows you well and who you know well. It is easily misinterpreted; don’t use it in communication with groups—the more people, the more opportunities for misinterpretation.
• Include a courteous greeting and closing in your message. You don’t generally walk into a room and start talking without a “hi” or “hello” then leave abruptly when you’ve said your last sentence without a graceful conclusion; don’t do so in online conversation either.
• Don’t use acronyms and abbreviations unless they are common to the class and understood by other participants; it’s rude to speak a “foreign” language when others in the group can’t understand and participate.
• Understand that we may disagree and that exposure to other people’s opinions is part of the learning experience when done courteously and respectfully.

 

2. An online course is still a course. Many of us use e-mail, instant messaging, chats, and social networks in casual conversation, and many of these same or similar tools are used in online learning; however, there the similarities stop. A Web-based classroom is still a classroom and professionalism is the code of conduct.

• Address your professor with his or her title until requested to do otherwise; he or she earned it.
• Treat your instructor and your fellow students with respect.
• Comments that would be inappropriate in a face-to-face classroom are inappropriate in an online course as well.
• Casual “hallway” conversations should be restricted to the location in the course designated for those types of conversations, not interspersed with assigned communication.
• Don't send minor corrections to e-mail or forum postings just because you made a typo or a grammatical error unless it changes the meaning of the message. Your readers will understand; we're all human and make errors.
• Don’t correct others’ minor typographical or grammatical errors publicly. You wouldn’t (shouldn’t) point out those errors in an open classroom discussion.
• You will be judged by the quality of your writing so spelling and grammar do count, although most online classrooms use more informal language and relaxed rules of grammar in general online communication and forum postings. Correct writing also makes your communication easier to read.

 

3. People have lives, varied schedules, and live in different time zones. One of the beauties of online learning is that it’s asynchronous, which means that people can participate at times that are most beneficial to them and not be required to be  online at the same time. Unfortunately, some participants in online classes tend to assume that because they’re working in the class, everyone else also is working in the class at the same time.

• Give recipients time to respond: people with whom you communicate have geographically and activity-diverse lives; the person receiving your message might be asleep or busy when your message arrives.
• Don't expect others to be online 24 hours a day.
• Don't send messages asking if prior messages were received unless a considerable period of time has elapsed. That just clutters up the course. If it's urgent, use the phone to check.
• Instructors have personal lives beyond teaching your course and are not “on call” every day all day and night. Respect their stated office hours and requests for contact channels.

 

4. Respect privacy. Respecting privacy can take several different forms. These norms address many of them.

• Respect the privacy of your classmates and what they share in class. What is “said” in class, stays in class.
• Never share confidential or private information, such as credit card numbers, passwords, and student ID numbers, ever.
• Discuss confidential things such as patient information or specifics about employers or business situations in class discussions as requested by your instructor among the class group—but not with roommates and others who are not in your assigned group or class.

Remember, professionalism and privacy are top considerations.

• Select message recipient names carefully. A simple mis-click can send information to a person(s) you didn’t intend, inadvertently sharing private information.

 

5. The online world is an open book. Electronic communication is easy to share, and that’s one of the nice things about online learning and electronic communication; it’s also one of the notso-good things. Several rules of netiquette govern sharing electronic communication and are important for you to keep in mind.

• Be cautious about what you put in an electronic message—anything you can see on the screen may be copied, pasted, altered and/or re-distributed.
• Remember that even deleted items are stored on a server somewhere and anything stored on a university server is subject to retrieval under certain legal circumstances.
• Always ask permission before re-posting or forwarding communication that was sent to you. Respect the response you get if your request is denied.

 

6. Rudeness is rude, and inappropriate is inappropriate—no matter what. The “faceless” nature of online communication has been shown to reduce inhibitions and increase disclosure. The result often is rudeness, use of inappropriate language, the intimate sharing of too much information, and the crossing of boundaries that would never be crossed in a face to-face classroom.

• Don’t overshare. In other words, consider the fact that you are classmates and professionals. Over time, friendships grow, but continue to monitor what you share with others remembering that the written word lives on long after class ends and circumstances change.
• Point out mistakes politely and privately. Remember the adage “don’t sweat the small stuff.”
• Don't send heated messages (we call these “flames”) even if you feel provoked or justified.
• Don't fuel flames by responding to a heated message; just let it die.
• Read, wait, then re-read before sending emotionally charged messages or messages that may be misconstrued. When in doubt; use the phone or visit the person.
• Report privately received inappropriate communication to your instructor immediately; don’t try to deal with it yourself.

 

7. Make it clear. The reason we communicate is to be understood. Keep these points in mind when you’re communicating in an online course.

• Remember that date formats, measurements, and idioms may not “travel well.” Write in such a manner that your meaning is clear to all who read your message.
• Be careful using slang, local acronyms, and jargon.
• Include a subject heading that reflects the content of the message.
• If you have several points to make, post/send individual messages, rather than a single, lengthy, all-encompassing message. It will make it easier for readers to “get” your point and will make resulting replies easier to focus.

 

8. A language all its own. Online communication quickly developed its own style when it came into being in the late 1980s and has continued to evolve. Emoticons (smileys) were first created to allow writers to inject personality into a message beyond the written word and to denote when a statement was made in jest or fun or to express sadness or discontent. They were created by using the symbol keys on the keyboard and were read by “reading sideways.” For example: :-) smiling face, ;-) winking face, and :-( sad or upset face. Many systems have now evolved into using graphical icons that can be inserted. Texting perfected a form of “shorthand” in electronic communication by (primarily) leaving vowels out of words or abbreviating. For example: BRB (be right back), JK (just kidding), BTW (by the way), LOL (laughing out loud), and F2F (face to face).

• Use smileys to indicate tone of voice, but use them sparingly.
• Follow the guidelines of the course when deciding to use emoticons or abbreviations.
• Don't assume that the inclusion of a smiley will make the recipient happy with what you say or wipe out an otherwise insulting, rude, or inappropriate comment.
• Even though they shorten messages or because you're used to "texting," use common abbreviations sparingly and only if you know your audience knows what they mean—and never in formal written communications.
• UPPER CASE APPEARS AS THOUGH YOU'RE SHOUTING, and is considered rude. all lowercase is hard to read. Use regular mixed-case.

 

9. Specific for messages.

• Do not use "Reply to All" unless it's a message that everyone needs to know. If someone has received kudos for a job well done, show your support privately, not by replying to everyone.
• Check for names of others who may be copied on a message in addition to you. Keep conversations focused on the topic and among those who need to be involved in that specific conversation.
• Be careful when addressing messages. Many e-mail applications "auto-fill" names with those you have previously corresponded with. Some message systems allow you to click on recipient names and you may select a name “one-off” from that which you intended to click. Many names and e-mail addresses are similar and it’s easy to choose the incorrect one.
• Phishing, spoofs, and forgeries are, unfortunately, common in today's electronic world. Just because a message appears to be from someone or some organization you know, it may not be. Legitimate messages will NEVER ask for personal information such as login usernames, passwords, PINs, account numbers, etc. Just delete them. Don’t reply and ask to be taken off the lists; that simply confirms your e-mail address.
• If you receive a message that doesn’t “sound right” even if it appears to come from someone you know, don't reply to it. Start a new message or use the phone to ask the person if they sent you the message.
• Don’t use a received message to start a new conversation. Take the time to address a new message with an appropriate subject line.
• If you think the importance of a message justifies it, immediately reply briefly to an e-mail message to let the sender know you got it, even if you will send a longer reply later.
• Don't forward all "hard luck" pleas or warning messages to everyone in your address list; most are totally or partially scams. Check a reliable site like snopes.com for accuracy and currency.

 

10. Specific for discussion forums.

• Thread discussion postings appropriately (start new topics when necessary, and reply to previous postings as appropriate).
• Review all postings in a forum before posting your own to prevent redundancy [and repetition ].
• Unless otherwise instructed, such as for an assignment submission, or when communication is of a personal nature, post all discussions to the discussion forums rather than send messages through course mail or private e-mail. This helps all participants learn from one another and helps generate professional discourse.
• Provide substantive feedback, reflections, comments, or questions; avoid posting trivial comments such as "I agree" or "nice."
• Be concise when contributing to a discussion. Online courses require  a lot of reading, and your points might  be missed if hidden in a lot of text.

  

© C. Hollingsworth, 2011