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This document briefly covers some of the informal rules that govern the internet - rules that make it a much more pleasant place to share info and socialize on the internet.
This is a work in progress.
It provides a wealth of diverse perspectives; it also provides ample opportunity for neophytes to inadvertently offend.
It provides a medium for voicing your opinion; it also gives easy access to the occasional few who abuse this freedom at the expense of others.
The following are some tips on being a good internet citizen:
Read the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) lists and rules messages for newsgroups, ftp sites and other internet services before posting messages or files. Some newsgroups are dedicated to the technical transfer of information and do not welcome philosophical or political debate.
Many internet participants make their living based on intellectual property and original published works. Observe copyright prohibitions.
Failure to make the small investment of being courteous (even to those you dislike) may result in being left out of the loop regarding new information - or worse, having someone systematically harass you on the net.
Being courteous on the net does involve a small effort on your part: subtle jokes may not come across as a joke to those who do not know you well, or to those who are not native to your language. Use of emotiles < grin >, < wink > or emoticons :-) ;-} help clarify your intent.
We all succumb to occasional typographical errors in our postings. With the exception of documentation, it is generally considered rude to point out typos or errors of grammar. Note: the person posting the message may be native to another language - consider how well you might compose a note in their language.
Each message you post on a newsgroup is replicated over a large number of sites; it is then copied to many more machines before being read by individuals. A single posting can result in the usage of a large amount of disk space worldwide; limit your posts to information that others might find useful or entertaining to help maximize the cost:benefit performance of the internet.
Limit your postings and email to those newsgroups and individuals that have indicated an interest in receiving what you intend to send. Useless, unsolicited mail will raise the ire of recipients, not garner support - postings perceived as obnoxious may result in retalitory action by internet users worldwide, effectively cutting you off from the internet.
Refrain from posting large messages; consider making them available via ftp if possible.
Appending signatures to your messages is useful in allowing readers to track you down if your message is forwarded. Signatures also provide a means to individualize your message. However, long signatures (over 4 lines) are considered by many users to be impolite and wasteful of resources.
When responding to a message, it is helpful to include a copy of the portion of the message you are responding to, so that readers who may have missed the earlier messages will grasp what is going on. Refrain from copying the entire message. Identify portions that are missing by including [snip], [deletia...] or some other indication that something has been removed. Also, clearly mark attributions: who wrote what (and preferably, when).
The following is a sample:
In article
Underscores are sometimes used for _emphasis_.
Carrets are used by some for underlining.
^^^^^^^^^^^
Several abbreviations are commonly used on the internet: