10 Best Rules Of Netiquette

In today’s world of brash, rude, inappropriate behavior online, it’s important to remind ourselves of these 10 rules of Netiquette.

What is netiquette?

Netiquette provides general guidelines as to how you should conduct yourself in cyber-space — the do’s and the don’ts of proper behavior.  The term is derived from network etiquette.

Wikipedia defines Netiquette as follows:

“…a set of social conventions that facilitate interaction over networks, ranging from Usenet and mailing lists to blogs and forums.”

Way back in 1994, Virginia Shea penned a book entitled Netiquette in which she examines the proper rules of behavior on the Internet.

She must have foreseen both the growth of the Internet and the corresponding growth of disrespectful behavior online.

So, the question is:  Are you behaving yourself?

Here are the 10 Best Rules Of Netiquette according to Virginia Shea.  You an find lengthy examples of each here:

1. Rule 1: Remember the Human
2. Rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life
3. Rule 3: Know where you are in cyberspace
4. Rule 4: Respect other people’s time and bandwidth
5. Rule 5: Make yourself look good online
6. Rule 6: Share expert knowledge
7. Rule 7: Help keep flame wars under control
8. Rule 8: Respect other people’s privacy
9. Rule 9: Don’t abuse your power
10. Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people’s mistakes