Unit 3 Part II

Adapted from "Core Rules of Netiquette" by Virginia Shea (Educom Review, Sept./Oct. 1994, p. 58-62)
Which was in turn excerpted from Netiquette by Virginia Shea, Albion Books, San Francisco, 1994
Copied from http://jade.wabash.edu/wabnet/info/netiquet.htm

Assume Publicity
Whether you are composing an e-mail message or writing your own WWW document, it is wise to assume that everyone in the world will read your words. Though e-mail is sent to only one person, it is very easy to forward an e-mail message to hundreds or thousands of people. Unless you have complete trust that the recipient of your mail will keep it confidential, assume complete exposure to the rest of the world.

The same rule applies to WWW documents, only to a greater degree. Anything put up on the Web is openly available for anyone in the world to see. That not only includes your professors and peers, but also the government, your future employers, students from other countries, and so on. It is wise to be cautious with what you put on the Web. Since the people out in Cyberspace have only a small bit of information by which to judge you, it only makes sense to make the information as appropriate, representative, and informative as possible.

Form Matters
As was mentioned earlier, you never know who will be reading what you write. The president of the college, or the President of the U.S., may decide to listen in on a newsgroup to which you post. Or perhaps someone will forward one of your e-mail messages to a potential employer. Either way, we would all like to think that we make a good impression. In the virtual world, though, an impression isn't made by a nice suit and a clean shave--you could be naked for all those out in Cyberworld care. Your writing, on the other hand, will be highly scrutinized. If you write well, you will likely come off as educated, intelligent, and respectable. If you compose hastily and sloppily, however, your audience may perceive you, perhaps inaccurately, as uneducated and unintelligent. If you want to make a good impression on those out in the Cyberworld, it's a good idea to make your writing look as professional as possible.

Be Forgiving
Finally, after all this advice on how to project yourself, here's a little on how to receive others: first and foremost, be forgiving. Just as you are trying to balance your valuable time with a desire to get your point across as respectably as possible, so are others doing the same. Sometimes it's all-too-tempting to tear someone apart for an obvious grammatical error, misspelling, or blatant display of stupidity. What we must keep in mind, though, is that what we are reading is only one small piece of the person on the other end, who is typing away just like we are. Perhaps he was uninformed--or in a hurry--or simply made a mistake. Regardless, each person is deserving of more than one chance before judgment is passed. If someone initially strikes you as inept, allow him another opportunity to confirm your judgment. And if you can't suppress a response, a kind word or two of advice in a helpful tone will leave a much better impression than a verbal barrage will. Always give the benefit of the doubt, and be kind with criticism.