Netiquette 101: Rule # 1 - "Remember the Human"

I liked this course so much I decided I would pass on the information and hopefully someone will find it as useful as I did.  This week's posts are dedicated to this topic...and maybe even next week if I don't drive everyone crazy playing "Ms. Manner's of the Internet".

Rule #1:  Remember the Human
I touched on this in yesterday's post, the whole "Do unto others" approach to communication.  Lets dive a little deeper into typical and a-typical human behavior.

Typical (in a workplace or home setting)

• Human tends to think (not everyone) before it speaks.
• Human is a little more concerned about losing its job by not using foul language.
• Human tends to consider others feelings (albeit briefly).

 A-Typical (The internet, driving a car on a busy freeway, emails, blogs)

• Human uses vial language and has vivid expressions of inappropriate behaviors.
• Human subjects others to its naughty thoughts (like we want to know the sewage that flows between your ears?).
• Human has no regard for the other person it is "flaming" because it falsely believes the internet provides it with anonymity.  (not the case, but ignorance is bliss, right?)

As quoted from the official Netiquette training manual at Albion.com:

"It's ironic, really. Computer networks bring people together who'd otherwise never meet. But the impersonality of the medium changes that meeting to something less -- well, less personal. Humans exchanging email often behave the way some people behind the wheel of a car do: They curse at other drivers, make obscene gestures, and generally behave like savages. Most of them would never act that way at work or at home. But the interposition of the machine seems to make it acceptable."

Here is the earth-shattering kaboom....one single, simple, basic rule: (and it is not news to 99.9% of the population)

1. "Would you say it to the persons face?"

I'll close with a quote from this book that should be a clear reminder of how truly visible you really are on the internet:

"Never forget the story of famous email user Oliver North. Ollie, you'll remember, was a great devotee of the White House email system, PROFS. He diligently deleted all incriminating notes he sent or received. What he didn't realize was that, somewhere else in the White House, computer room staff were equally diligently backing up the mainframe where his messages were stored. When he went on trial, all those handy backup tapes were readily available as evidence against him."

Next, we'll tackle Rule #2 - "Just because you live in a barrel doesn't mean you have to act like a monkey"