A Simple Guide to Netiquette

A simple guide to Netiquette – Internet Ethics

You may think you know all about netiquette and all the rules that are there to know, but here is a simple guide to help you with the Internet ethics and also email etiquette. * Remember that in spite of there being passwords to protect your privacy on the Internet, nothing is private, everything seen, forwarded and received by you can be monitored by people and seen by people for whom it was never intended. So while sending out emails or correspondence, official or otherwise, be cautious about what you send and what consequences it can have for you. * Company email is company property and hence not private. Anything you send or receive via the company is the property of the company and can be monitored and viewed by them, be extra careful here. * Never be offensive, racist, biased, libelous or obscene on the Internet, be it via email or otherwise. Some jokes are just in bad taste and will not be appreciated. * Emails and the Internet is free of emotions and hence all communication can be interpreted. Use of emoticons, capital letters, and exclamatory marks can be interpreted as shouting or rude behavior, so avoid all such things in your communications unless otherwise intended. * Do not forward messages and email unless the sender and the receiver give you the go-ahead. Even when you are forwarding humor to colleagues, remember some may not appreciate it. Chain mails and forwards are a strict no-no. * Always give the receiver of your message some time to revert back to you. There could be a technical problem or the person hasn’t had the chance to read your mail. Be patient and never send a rude email following the first for lack of response. * Sloppy emails with typographical errors or grammatical errors are not pleasing to the eye and certainly do not make a good impression. Always use spell check while sending out an official email. * Include the original message thread