Netiquette
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Ever knew why you need to use this ->
? Read on.
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Network Etiquette
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Network etiquette - for NETNEWS, but also applicable to participation in electronic discussion lists and conferences in general.
AUTHOR: Linda Littleton
These are commonly-accepted rules of etiquette for posting to NETNEWS. You shouldn't post anything until you have read and understand everything below.
Some of this information is adapted from "A Primer on How to Work With the NETNEWS Community" by Chuq Von Rospach.
(1) Never Forget that the Person on the Other Side is Human =====================================================
Because your interaction with the network is through a computer,
it's easy to forget that there are people "out there". Situations
arise where emotions erupt into a verbal free-for-all that can lead
to hurt feelings.
Please remember that people all over the world are reading your
words. Don't attack people if you cannot persuade them with your
presentation of the facts. Screaming, cursing, and abusing others
only serves to make people think less of you and be less willing to
help you when you need it.
If you're upset at something or someone, wait until you've had a
chance to calm down and think about it. A cup of coffee or a good
night's sleep works wonders on your perspective. Hasty words
create more problems than they solve. Try not to say anything to
others you wouldn't say to them in person in a room full of people.
(2) Your Postings Reflect Upon You -- Be Proud of Them
=======================================================
Most people on NETNEWS will know you only by what you say and how
well you say it. Take some time to make sure each posting is
something that will not embarrass you. Minimize your spelling
errors and make sure that the article is easy to read and
understand. Writing is an art, and to do it well requires
practice. Since much of how people judge you on the net is based
on your writing, such time is well spent.
(3) Don't Use Foul or Obscene Language
=======================================
Language that would be considered inappropriate for a letter to the
editor of a newspaper is also inappropriate for NETNEWS.
(4) If You Have Nothing Significant to Say, Don't Post
=======================================================
Avoid postings that have no significant content. A posting of the
sort that summarizes someone else's post and adds a statement that
amounts to "Me too" is a waste of time for the thousands of people
who read the group. Try not to fall into the trap of thinking you
need to respond to each article you read.
(5) Be Brief
=============
Never say in ten words what you can say in fewer. Say it succinctly
and it will have a greater impact. Remember that the longer you
make your article, the fewer people will bother to read it.
(6) Don't Overdo Signatures
============================
Signatures are nice and can tell the world something about you, but
keep them short. Two or three lines are usually plenty. A signature
that's longer than the message itself is considered to be in bad
taste. Generally a signature should beã|no more than four lines.ã%
The main purpose of a signature is to help people locate you on the
net, not learn your life story. Your signature could include your
name and e-mail address, but don't include drawings, pictures, maps,
or other graphics in your signature -- it's not the appropriate
place for such material, which is often viewed as rude by other
readers.
(7) Don't Quote People Without Their Permission
================================================
E-mail and messages sent to you should be considered confidential.
Never post someone's mail to you, unless you have their explicit
permission.
(8 ) Use Descriptive Titles
===========================
The subject line of an article is there to enable a person with a
limited amount of time to decide whether or not to read your
article. Tell people what the article is about before they read
it. A title like "Car for Sale" doesn't help as much as "66 MG
Midget for sale: Pittsburgh PA". Don't expect people to read your
article to find out what it's about, because many of them won't
bother. Some computers truncate the length of the subject line to
40 characters, so keep your subjects short and to the point.
(9) Select the Appropriate Newsgroup
=====================================
Some newsgroups are intended for discussions and some for
announcements or queries. It is not usually a good idea to carry
on discussions in newsgroups that are designated otherwise. It is
never a good idea to carry on "meta-discussions" about whether a
given discussion is appropriate -- such traffic mushrooms until
nobody can find articles that belong.
Likewise, posting to an empty or seldom used group with an attitude
of "Hey, folks, here's an empty group we can use for whatever we
want" is frowned upon. This sort of activity reflects poorly on
you and your institution.
(10) Avoid Excessive Cross-posting
===================================
You may "cross-post" an article to two or more groups at once by
listing all of the groups, separated by commas but no spaces, on
the "Newsgroups:" line. Do cross-post your article when you are
sure it's appropriate; however, in most cases, posting to more than
two or three groups is considered excessive. -
(11) Personal arguments are inappropriate in a public group
=====================================================
If you're unhappy with what some user said, don't start a personal
argument publicly. Send private e-mail instead.
(12) Think About Your Audience
===============================
When you post an article, think about the people you're trying to
reach. Asking chess questions on rec.games will not reach as many
of the people you want to reach as if you asked them on rec.games.chess.
Try to get the most appropriate audience for your posting, not the
widest.
If your message is of interest to a limited geographic area
(apartments, car sales, meetings, concerts), use the "Distribution"
feature to restrict the distribution of the message to your local
area. For example, if it only belongs on Penn State's local
systems, post to a psu group.
If you want to try a test of something, don't use a net-wide
newsgroup! Messages in widely-used groups that say "This is a
test" are likely to cause large numbers of caustic messages to flow
into your reader. You are welcome to use psu.test to try out the
posting software to your heart's content. That's what it's there
for!
(13) Be Careful with Humor and Sarcasm
=======================================
Without the voice inflections and body language of personal
communications, it's easy for a remark meant to be funny to be
misinterpreted. Subtle humor tends to get lost, so take steps to
make sure that people realize you're trying to be funny. The net
has developed a symbol called the smiley face. It looks like :-)
and points out sections of articles with humorous intent. No
matter how broad the humor or satire, it's safer to remind people
that you are being funny. (Turn your head sideways to see the
smile).
(14) Describe What You're Following Up
=======================================
When you're following up someone's article, please summarize the
parts of the article to which you're responding. This allows
readers to appreciate your comments rather than trying to remember
what the original article said. Also, it's possible for your
response to get to some sites before the original article does.
Summarization is best done by including appropriate quotes from the
original article. ã|Don't include the entire article,ã% since it
will irritate the people who have already seen it. Even if you're
responding to the entire article, summarize only the major points
you are discussing.
(15) Posting a Followup vs. Sending Personal Reply
===================================================
One of the biggest problems we have on the network is that, when
someone asks a question, many people have identical answers, and
dozens of these identical answers pour through the net. Therefore,
before you submit a followup article, read the rest of the articles
in the newsgroup to see whether someone has already said what you
want to say. If someone has, don't repeat it. If you want your
opinion recorded, however, e-mail your answer to the person instead
of posting a followup, and suggest that they summarize in a single
posting to NETNEWS (see next section). This way the net will only
see a single copy of the answers, no matter how many people answer
the question.
If you post a question, please remind people to send you the
answers by e-mail and offer to summarize them to the network.
And remember, if in doubt, send e-mail.
(16) Summarizing Responses to Questions
========================================
When you request information from the network, it's common courtesy
to report your findings so that others can benefit as well. The
best way of doing this is to take all the responses you receive and
edit them into a single article that's posted to the places where
you originally posted your question. Take the time to strip
headers, combine duplicate information, and write a short summary.
Try to credit the information to the people that sent it to you,
where possible.
(17) Advertising Policy
========================
Announcement of professional products or services on Netnews is
allowed; however, since someone else is paying the phone bill, it's
important that the announcement be of overall benefit to Netnews.
Post to an appropriate newsgroup, never to a general purpose group.
Clearly mark your article as a product announcement in the subject.
Never repeat these -- one article per product at the most;
preferably group everything into one article. Advertising hype is
especially frowned upon -- stick to technical facts. This policy is, of course,
subject to change if it becomes a problem.
(18 ) Don't Break the Law
=========================
Once something is posted onto the network, it's effectively in the
public domain. You should also be aware that posting movie
reviews, song lyrics, or anything else published under a copyright
could cause you, your company, or the net itself to be held liable
for damages, so we highly recommend caution in using this material.
It's perfectly legal to reproduce short extracts of a copyrighted
work for critical purposes, but reproduction in whole is strictly
and explicitly forbidden by U.S. and international copyright law.
(Otherwise, there would be no way for the artist to make money, and
there would thus be less motive for people to go to the trouble of
making their art available at all. The crime of theft is as
serious in this context as any other, even though you may not have
to pick locks, mask your face, or conceal merchandise.)
All opinions or statements made in Netnews articles should be taken
as the opinions of the person who wrote the article. They don't
necessarily represent the opinions of the employer of that person,
the owner of the computer from which the message was posted, or
anyone involved with Netnews or the underlying networks which
comprise Netnews. All responsibility for statements made in
Netnews rests with the individual posting the article.
Posting of information on Netnews is to be viewed as similar to
publication. Because of this, don't post instructions for how to
do some illegal act (such as jamming radar or obtaining cable TV
service illegally); also don't ask how to do illegal acts by
posting to the net.
(19) Cite Appropriate References
=================================
If you're using facts to support a cause, state where they came
from. Don't take someone else's ideas and use them as your own.
You don't want someone pretending that your ideas are theirs; show
them the same respect.
(20) Mark or Rotate Answers and Spoilers
=========================================
When you post something (like a movie review that discusses a
detail of the plot) which might spoil a surprise for other people,
please mark your message with a warning so that they can skip the
article. When you post a message with a spoiler in it, make sure the word
"spoiler" is part of the Subject line.