The pointers below will help you protect yourself from flame wars or bad communication online.
1. Keep correspondence short and straight to the point.
2. Stick to one subject per message.
3. Don’t forget to sign your messages with your name and e-mail address.
4. Capital letters may scare people because they emphasize strong emotion such as anger. They are considered “shouting” on the net. Use them only if necessary.
5. It is rude to forward personal e-mail to newsgroups.
6. Use humor and sarcasm only when communicating with people you know. Be sure that your jokes are not misinterpreted.
7. Use acronyms to make reading messages fast.
8. Always look for an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) document in the site you are visiting. Read it before participating in any online conversation or promo.
9. Check out mailing list or discussion group for a few days before posting. Your message may out of tune. Know the atmosphere, content, and customs of that group.
10. If someone else addresses a different topic, don’t respond to it as it nay thread and can go on, driving other people crazy.
11. Answer questions through private e-mail. Respond only to messages applicable to your topic.
12. Respect everyone you are communicating with – regardless of age, gender, or nationality.
13. The rules of etiquette that apply to email also apply to newsgroups. Do not post advertisements or anything that looks like an ad. Never leave the subject link blank.
14. Moreover, if you are responding to a post, do not change the subject line at all. A conversation thread is really no more than a series of messages with the same subject line. Changing your subject means transferring to a new article of discussion and will not look like a response to an existing message. If you decide to start a new discussion, do not reply to a message to start it. Instead, start a new thread of discussion.
References: David King, 2002, A Quick and Practical Guide to the Internet
