Brandywine Internet Tips: Netiquette

NETIQUETTE
(INTERNET ETIQUETTE FOR EMAIL, CHAT ROOMS, INSTANT MESSAGES, BULLETIN BOARDS & OTHER FORUMS)

There are several important rules to remember when using an internet communication tool. The normal rules of politeness are good to remember, but since you're not seeing them face-to-face and also don't usually know them personally, there are other rules that apply to these communications.

It is often useful to quote from the post to which you're replying, but don't quote too much since it will make the message larger, longer to download, and longer to scroll to read it all. Two lines of quoting should be enough to capture the comment to which you're referring.

If you're in a forum, such as an email list, which contains several people, remember the topic of the list and don't post off-subject remarks. For instance, if you're on the Brandywine-chat email list which is for conversations about the area, a conversation about where to find a good computer repair shop would be appropriate for the list. If you decide to tell a poster how to fix their computer, that discussion should go "off-list" meaning that you should send it only to the individual and not to the whole list. Also a reference to "TB" would not be understood by many posters if they haven't all lived here all of their lives or aren't familiar with this history, so it would be helpful to be more specific for newcomers.

Most, though not all, forums have their own set of rules. Read those rules and/or guidelines before posting and do your best to adhere to them. If you're in doubt, you can write to the manager of that forum if it is appropriate.

When you want to be removed from an email list or forum, find the information to do that yourself or write to the forum manager, but DO NOT write to the entire forum that you want to be removed from it. Most email lists come with a welcome message which also tells you how to unsubscribe, which you should save somewhere where you'll be able to find it.

For more indepth information on Netiquette, go to the site at this link.

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