Netiquette 101
Millions of people use the Internet, every day, with all of the e-mails, chat rooms, and discussions, We all could use the rules of Netiquette. What is Netiquette? It's the art of etiquette on the Net.
I don't know what Miss Manners says about it, but I think common courtesy is the best place to start. Communicate with others as you would want them to communicate with you. Sounds simple? It is, yet sometimes it isn't. Confusing? Yes, but I am going to break some of it down for you.
E-mailing
We all know how to send an e-mail to our long distance relatives. But, do we know how to deal with the occasional bad e-mail?
When you receive an e-mail that is upsetting don't panic. You also don't want to over-react, and send one just as upsetting back. There is no law that says you have to respond immediately. So don't. If you feel you really must respond, do not respond in kind. Try to remember these three things.
1. You don't know why this person is so angry. They could be having a bad day, be going through a personal tragedy, or didn't mean to come off the way they did.
2. Take 24 hours to respond. You may see, that you feel differently by then. You also just might get an apology you weren't expecting.
3. When you do respond, don't let your emotions write that e-mail. OK, I know that's not easy. If you don't think you can do that, wait another 24 hours. Responding with emotions can get you in trouble, and fuel the anger that started the whole thing.
Your first objective is to avoid an ongoing argument. Don't keep a bad thing going. If, after your response, you receive yet another upsetting e-mail, stop the correspondence. If the offending e-mailer proceeds to send other upsetting mailings, contact their Webmaster, and your own. Every server has rules, and can block certain mailings when needed. If you don't want to go that far, simply use that delete button. Before you even open the e-mail. When you see the offending address, you know to delete immediately. That way you don't have to be further upset.
Chatrooms
Unlike e-mails, chatrooms are in real time. You don't have that 24 hours to think about a response. Most chatrooms have rules and a monitor. If you are going to participate in a chat, take the time to read the rules. This will ensure that you don't make a major mistake and be cut off.
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