PERSONAL SPECIAL...MIND YOUR ONLINE MANNERS

How you behave in the virtual world reflects on your identity in the real world too.

Some of the more common (but often unsaid) rules that you should follow when interacting with anyone online

    In layman terms, etiquettes refer to a behavior to be followed as per the social norm. We all follow various etiquettes in our day to day lives — not yelling or abusing, paying respect to elders, shaking hands, opening the door for for someone, not playing with food on the table and so on. But today, our lives are entangled with the world wide web in one way or another — scores of emails, social networks, discussion boards/forums, instant messaging/chats or just posting comments on something you read online — what you write will be read and judged. However, just like real life, there are (sometimes unsaid) etiquettes to be followed on the net. Internet etiquettes or 'netiquettes' as they are sometimes referred to, are simple manners, similar to the ones followed in the real world, that help others get a better perspective of you through your online behavior and interactions. Whatever text you need to post online, whether your text is intended for one or for many, these are a few of the common rules that will earn you some respect and help you to be taken more seriously when needed.

NEVER USE CAPITAL LETTERS

TYPING OUT anything in capital letters online is considered equivalent to shouting or yelling. Be it emails, chats, social networks or any discussion forum, refrain from using capital letters, unless you actually want to imply that you are yelling (which is also not usually done since most people take offense). If you post in capital by mistake, apologise, explain & delete. EMOTICONS EMOTICONS SMILEYS are a fun and cute way of expressing your feelings and state of mind. However using too many in a single sentence can be annoying. As a general rule, for a small post, do not place more than two emoticons in a single sentence. Also, do not place emoticons in official email conversations or anywhere you need to be taken seriously.

ACRONYMS

    AS FAR as acronyms are concerned, stick to using them in an instant message or chat. Using common acronyms like omg (oh my god), imo (in my opinion), lol (laughing out loud) and so on are usually accepted, but be prepared to explain when asked — not everyone is familiar with acronyms. Using them in email is considered rude. Another general rule is that you should not use more then two acronyms in a single sentence.

LANGUAGE

    ALWAYS USEcorrect spelling, grammar and punctuation. Not only does it make you appear more professional but also makes the person reading your email/post take it more seriously. If you're not sure, use a spell check tool before posting your text because incorrect words and grammar can lead to misunderstandings. If you must send a long email or post a long comment, add spaces between paragraphs or add points to make it easy to read.

DO NOT SPAM

    SPAM IS defined as sending links or mails to a person without his/her consent. No one wants to see useless advertising links and unrelated posts on a discussion forum. Many forums and message boards follow a strict no spam policy — if you post any spam, you might get a warning or two, but you might also kicked out immediately. If you send spam by mistake or your email ID was hacked, apologise, explain the situation and delete the post (or inform the moderators/webmaster).

DO NOT FLAME SOMEONE

FLAMING OR bashing is a term used when one person abuses or insults another person over and over on the Internet. This is considered very rude, especially because comments are usually publicly viewable. If you have issues with what someone is saying, voice your protest, but politely. If you know the person, take your argument offline. If you are the victim of flaming, don't retaliate. Instead, file a complaint with the moderators/webmaster who will take necessary action to warn or block him/her.

SHARING MULTIMEDIA

THE GENERAL rule for sharing content online is that it should not be offensive or abusive to anyone. If you're sharing images by email or on a discussion forum, be selective and make sure to resize images to a smaller size. If you need to send high-res images, use a file sharing website. If you must send videos over email, try to share videos that are only a couple of minutes in length. A better way to share videos is to upload them to YouTube, Vimeo or similar sites and just share the link. Do not share copyrighted files like movies or songs. DISCUSSION FORUMS

1 Follow the Rules

Each forum has rules for content sharing and various other little things. Make sure to adhere to them, as moderators will not think twice before banning you.

2 Search before Posting

If you have a query, make sure you search the forums for similar queries before posting it on the forum. If you post a repeated query, it is likely that your post will be ignored.

3 Personal Information

Never share personal information on a discussion forum. Most forums frown upon this since malicious bots can infect the site in search of such kind of information.

4 Fonts & Colors

Posting with different colors or different sized fonts makes it harder to read and is considered as poor form. Stick to the default font for the best and speedy response.

SENDING EMAIL

Subject Header Keep the subject as concise and to the point as possible. This gets your email better noticed rather than a general title like ‘Help’ or ‘Hi’.

CC/BCC If you must send an email to multiple people, use BCC (blind carbon copy). Use CC (carbon copy) when you want the recipients to know who else is included on the trail.

Attachments Avoid attaching heavy files to an email since they can take long to download. Instead, upload to file-sharing sites and share the download link.

Reply/Forward When replying or forwarding an email, go through the body text and remove unnecessary information like dead links, personal information, old signatures & embedded images.

Karan Bajaj ET12O109