Rules of Netiquette

Netiquette

We create personal pages, post messages, and interact via mediated technologies as a normal part of our careers,

but how we conduct ourselves can leave a lasting image, literally. The photograph you posted on your MySpace

page may have been seen by your potential employer, or that nasty remark in a post may come back to haunt you

later. Some fifteen years ago, when the Internet was a new phenomenon, Virginia Shea laid out a series of ground

rules for communication online that continue to serve us today.

Virginia Shea’s Rules of Netiquette

• Remember the human on the other side of the electronic communication.

• Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life.

• Know where you are in cyberspace.

• Respect other people’s time and bandwidth.

• Make yourself look good online.

258 Business Communication for Success

• Share expert knowledge.

• Keep flame wars under control.

• Respect other people’s privacy.

• Don’t abuse your power.

• Be forgiving of other people’s mistakes (Shea, 1994).

Her rules speak for themselves and remind us that the golden rule (treat others as you would like to be treated) is

relevant wherever there is human interaction.

Key Takeaways

• A text message is a brief written message sent and received using a digital device. It is useful for informal, brief, time-sensitive communication.

• E-mail is useful for both internal and external business communications. The content and formatting of an e-mail message should reflect professionalism and follow the rules of netiquette.

• Social customs that exist in traditional, live, human interaction also influence the rules and customs by which we interact with each other in the online environment.

Exercises

1. Write a text message in your normal use of language. It should use all your normal abbreviations (e.g., FWIW, IMHO, LOL), even if not everyone understands them.

2. Find an example of an e-mail that you wish you had never sent or received. Rewrite it to eliminate the characteristics that you find problematic. Share it with your classmates.

3. Choose at least three e-mails you have sent or received that are good examples of business communication. What makes them good examples? Could they be improved in any way? Share your suggestions with classmates.

4. When is e-mail inappropriate? Why?

5. Find a “flame war,” or heated discussion in an online forum and note how it is handled. Compare the results with your classmates.

6. In your experience, how do people behave when they interact online? Share your observations with your classmates.

References

Guffey, M. (2008). Essentials of business communication (7th ed.). Mason, OH: Thomson/Wadsworth.

Houston Chronicle. (2009, September 23). Deadly distraction: Texting while driving, twice as risky as drunk

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