Internet Lingo:
Because the internet is still in an age of emergence, there is still no standard protocol for each form of communication that may be encountered. It also can be a place where many things can be misunderstood, as everything is just words. When the majority of us communicate face-to-face, we communicate true emotion. Through the internet, communication can be emotionless-or even appear to have an emotion that is not reflective of the emotion that the composer tried to convey. That is why emoticons were created! Emoticons (also known as "smiley/frowny faces") can help convey the right emotion, all the while keeping anything that may be said [that could be potentially offensive] light-hearted. However, these should be kept at a minimum for professionalism.
"Golden Rule":
As with all inter-personal communication, we should remember to utilize the "Golden Rule". This is the principle of treating others the way you would want to be treated. This would mean that we should strive to not insult others through online venues, insight others to feel uncomfortable, or slander anyone through the means of online communication. One way to ensure we follow through with keeping this rule is to read your response out loud. Unfortunately, sometimes when conveying a certain message: it may be impossible to not offend someone because of the subject content. However, we should try our best to make our compositions as neutral as possible, while still defending our side as strongly as possible.
Avoiding Slang:
Last but not least, my personal pet peeve appears on the list: slangs. In a time where instant communication is king, we often times forget that we are not speaking to someone face-to-face. Because of this, we tend to talk in slang that some may not even understand. However, what mostly perturbs me is that when people compose writings for professional or scholastic purposes that are laden with slang that does not