The art of faceless communication is something that is not taught in any pre-work educational setting I am aware of. Neither of my colleges taught such classes and while they hinted at proper "netiquette" techniques, they were minimal references at best. What is the "Netiquette" I'm speaking of? It is proper electronic communication techniques whose intent is more than assisting people poor English skills called "Grammar Abusers" to clearly articulate their messages. It means to keep individuals connected to the "Faces" of the faceless. The point being: the "Golden Rule"standards still apply even to the internet.
In Virginia Shea's book titled "Netiquette", she digs deep into the importance of proper faceless communication. The principals this manual discusses, albeit a bit dated, still stands true. And there are even classes one can take online. Albion.com offers an online overview using the materials from Shea's book. Here is an excerpt from Albion.com's Netiquette:
"Would you say it to the person's face?
Writer and Macintosh evangelist Guy Kawasaki tells a story about getting email from some fellow he's never met. Online, this fellow tells Guy that he's a bad writer with nothing interesting to say.
Unbelievably rude? Yes, but unfortunately, it happens all the time in cyberspace.
Maybe it's the awesome power of being able to send mail directly to a well-known writer like Guy. Maybe it's the fact that you can't see his face crumple in misery as he reads your cruel words. Whatever the reason, it's incredibly common.
Guy proposes a useful test for anything you're about to post or mail: Ask yourself, "Would I say this to the person's face?" If the answer is no, rewrite and reread. Repeat the process till you feel sure that you'd feel as comfortable saying these words to the live person as you do sending them through cyberspace.
Of course, it's possible that you'd feel great about saying something extremely rude to the person's face. In that case, Netiquette can't help you. Go get a copy of Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior."
What I found to be most excellent while reviewing this book were the not-so-subtle references to the absence of body language and our ability to slide into "Stealth Trolling" mode given the anonymity the internet affords us.
It's true, the internet is a vast chasm of unknown people from around the world, all of whom have very little idea who you are and could, in most cases, care less. That being said, Netiquette is as lost to electronic communication as good penmanship is to handwriting. It would behoove anyone to take a moment to brush up on their internet-manners to keep from having unwanted business faux pas.
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