Think twice before you post personal
information about
yourself or others. Your boss, roommate, professor, or Aunt Sally may be
reading this group.
Most people have lots of questions when
they first start
using the resources of the Internet. In fact, most people have the SAME
questions. And while the average experienced user doesn't mind answering
a few questions, they tend to get very tired of answering the SAME
questions again and again. For this reason, it's often best to know a
little something about the resources you're using before you just jump
right in, so here goes...
This document is a revised version of the Harvard Computer Society's Netiquette FAQ, which was created by Rachel Kadel, and is being maintained by Cindy Alvarez.
Be familiar with the group you are
posting to before you
post! One normally does not join a conversation by just walking up and
talking. Instead, you
listen first and then join in if you have something pertinent to
contribute. If you have a question to ask, first consider if it's
something you can find out by reading the appropriate manual or asking
someone. Many newsgroups have a compiled list of Frequently Asked
Questions, or a FAQ. If you don't see the FAQ posted, most FAQs are
archived at ftp.rtfm.edu.
Think twice before you post personal
information about
yourself or others. Your boss, roommate, professor, or Aunt Sally may be
reading this group.
Keep your posts easy to read. Make
frequent
paragraph breaks. Make an effort to spell and punctuate correctly.
Remember that this is a purely written communication medium; people's
entire impression of you is based on what they read. THIS IS INTERPRETED
AS SHOUTING. IT'S ALSO HARD TO READ. Use all-caps sparingly.
When you are following up someone's
article, please summarize
the parts of the article to which you are responding. This allows
readers to appreciate your comments rather than trying to remember
what the original article said.
Summarizing on usenet is generally done by quoting excerpts of
the original post. Quoted material is usually indicated by >
marks at
the beginnings of lines.
Don't post the same message separately to
multiple
usenet groups. This is known as spamming, and will result in the wrath of
the net falling upon your head. (You think I'm joking. I'm not.) If
your post is relevant to multiple newsgroups, then you can put the names
of the newsgroups
you want to post to, separated by commas, in the Newsgroups: header of
your message. This is known as cross-posting, and should be done sparingly.
Criticism on the 'net is known as
flaming. Making a flamboyant and
unjustified statement and posting it to the world will probably result in
a number of people flaming you; thatis, responding to tell you just how
obnoxious you are.
Smiles, 'just-kidding', and sarcasm are
often indicated by a smile: :)
If that doesn't look like a smile to you, flop your head over to the left
and look at it. There are countless variations on this, including the
frown :( and the stuck-out tongue :P .
This is how you indicate sarcasm, just-kidding, or general emotion that
may accompany your written statement.
Sometimes you might read or be told
"RTFM!" RTFM stands for Read the
F** Manual, and is used when someone asks an overly simple question
that is answered in their computer manual or in the FAQ of that
particular newsgroup. There is a site called rtfm.mit.edu, where FAQs are archived.
That's about it...follow these guidelines and you shouldn't have a problem. Happy news-reading!