JCOM 2160 Reading One: Netiquette and E-mail

The two articles that I was assigned to read dealt with what is acceptable behavior when using email or communicating in general online. There of course were some common sense rules like use proper spelling and grammar, but there were a few rules that I thought were very useful.

When looking at the etiquette for email I found a something I could personally work on. When you have sent several messages back and forth to a person it is important to not delete the message thread. I usually click the reply button then delete the previous text and type my response. I figure that it is easier for a person to read when there isn't a bunch of additional text in the way. Wrong, some people get so busy with other things that they often forget many of the details of an email conversation. Message threads act as a refresher reminding people what has been said and in what context it was said in. Removing the thread can be confusing a lot of time can be wasted sending messages back and forth asking for clarifcation. That is something I can incorporate into my emails, you learn something new everyday.

There are also general rules for conducting yourself in cyberspace. One of which is especially frustrating to me. The first and most basic rule of cyberspace etiquette is: Remember the Human. I read the newspaper everyday online and I have to tell you by the time I sign off I'm pretty ticked. Online newspapers allow anyone to post a comment on an article they have read. Practically everyone that posts a comment is angry and uses the comment section as a way to either attack the journalist, or attack someone else that has made a comment that they don't agree with. Before you publish anything use this rule to guide what you write, would I say this to this person's face? Because we only see a computer screen when we communicate in cyberspace it is very easy to forget that we are speaking to real people. They have feelings, like we all do, and they can be hurt by saying something shallow and cheap. It is not impressive to insult people while hiding behind a screen name. Basically all other netiquette rules stem from the Golden Rule: Treat others as you would want to be treated. A little respect goes a long way.