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Carl Jann C. Caranzo      

What is Netiquette? Simply stated, it's network etiquette --"Netiquette" is network etiquette, the do's and don'ts of online communication. Netiquette covers both common courtesy online and the informal "rules of the road" of cyberspace. That is, the etiquette of cyberspace. And "etiquette" means "the forms required by good breeding or prescribed by authority to be required in social or official life." In other words, Netiquette is a set of rules for behaving properly online.

Netiquette represents the importance of proper manners and behavior online. In general, netiquette is the set of professional and social etiquettes practiced and advocated in electronic communication over any computer network. Common guidelines include being courteous and precise, and avoiding cyber-bullying. Netiquette also dictates that users should obey copyright laws and avoid overusing emoticons.

Netiquette is a short form of network etiquette or Internet etiquette.

When you enter any new culture -- and cyberspace has its own culture -- you're liable to commit a few social blunders. You might offend people without meaning to. Or you might misunderstand what others say and take offense when it's not intended. To make matters worse, something about cyberspace makes it easy to forget that you're interacting with other real people -- not just ASCII characters on a screen, but live human characters. So, partly as a result of forgetting that people online are still real, and partly because they don't know the conventions, well-meaning cybernauts, especially new ones, make all kinds of mistakes

The book Netiquette has a dual purpose: to help net newbies minimize their mistakes, and to help experienced cyberspace travelers help the newbies. The premise of the book is that most people would rather make friends than enemies, and that if you follow a few basic rules, you're less likely to make the kind of mistakes that will prevent you from making friends.

The list of core rules below, and the explanations that follow, are excerpted from the book. They are offered here as a set of general guidelines for cyberspace behavior. They won't answer all your Netiquette questions. But they should give you some basic principles to use in solving your own Netiquette dilemmas.

Netiquette a colloquial portmanteau of network etiquette or 'etiquette, is a set of social conventions that facilitate interaction over networks, ranging from and to and Like the network itself, these developing norms remain in a state of flux and vary from community to community. The points most strongly emphasized about Usenet netiquette often include using simple electronic signatures, and avoiding multiposting, cross-posting, off-topic posting, hijacking a discussion thread, and other techniques used to minimize the effort required to read a post or a thread. Similarly, some Usenet guidelines call for use of unabbreviated English while users of instant messaging protocols like SMS occasionally encourage just the opposite, bolstering use of SMS language. However, many online communities frown upon this practice.

Common rules for e-mail and Usenet such as avoiding flamewars and spam are constant across most mediums and communities. Another rule is to avoid typing in all caps or grossly enlarging script for emphasis, which is considered to be the equivalent of shouting or yelling. Other commonly shared points, such as remembering that one's posts are (or can easily be made) public, are generally intuitively understood by publishers of Web pages and posters to Usenet, although this rule is somewhat flexible depending on the environment. On more private protocols, however, such as e-mail and SMS, some users take the privacy of their posts for granted. One-on-one communications, such as private messages on chat forums and direct SMSs, may be considered more private than other such protocols, but infamous breaches surround even these relatively private media.

"When someone makes a mistake – whether it's a spelling error or a spelling flame, a stupid question or an unnecessarily long answer – be kind about it. If it's a minor error, you may not need to say anything. Even if you feel strongly about it, think twice before reacting. Having good manners yourself doesn't give you license to correct everyone else. If you do decide to inform someone of a mistake, point it out politely, and preferably by private email rather than in public. Give people the benefit of the doubt; assume they just don't know any better. And never be arrogant or self-righteous about it. Just as it's a law of nature that spelling flames always contain spelling errors, notes pointing out Netiquette violations are often examples of poor Netiquette."

This term was first introduced in posts of the satirical “Dear Emily” news columns in 1983, but it originated before the World Wide Web. In that era, the commercial use of public posting was not popular and internet traffic was dominated by text-based emails, Gopher, Telnet and FTP from educational and research authorities.

Although the specific rules governing netiquette may be different depending on the forum being used, it is equally applicable to chatting, blogging, message boards, email and surfing the Internet.

Contraction of Internet etiquette, the etiquette guidelines for posting messages to online services, and particularly Internet news groups. Netiquette covers not only rules to maintain civility in discussions, but also special guidelines unique to the electronic nature of forum messages. For example, netiquette advises users to use simple formats because complex formatting may not appear correctly for all readers. In most cases, netiquette is enforced by fellow users who will vociferously object if you break a rule of netiquette.

Rule 1. Keep things friendly, yet professional

Networking is all about building business relationships, but remember the key word here is ‘business’. After all, you’re focusing on your career here, not your social life! Be sure to keep all your exchanges professional and have your business needs in mind at all times.

Your communication channels need to be businesslike, too. When it comes to networking, your Hotmail account and your personal mobile number just aren’t going to cut it. Try Gmail or Zoho for a custom email address and eVoice for a professional phone number. Similarly, add business contacts to LinkedIn, not Facebook. 

Rule 2. Build an equal relationship

Networking is a two-way street. Building business relationships involves giving help and advice to other professionals as well as getting things in return. For example, if you’re seeking someone’s opinion or asking them to help you out on a project, it’s only fair that you’ve offered them something similar in return (or plan to do so in the future). This kind of mutually beneficial connection is what you want to achieve when networking.

Rule 3. Be open, honest and trustworthy

There’s no place for sneakiness or hidden motives when it comes to networking. You don’t want someone to think you’re only trying to connect with them to gain a few referrals, or to bleed them dry of their best business advice.Instead, you want to be open and honest right from the start. Have a frank discussion with potential connections about what you’re hoping to gain from networking with them, and what they’d like to gain from connecting with you.

Rule 4. Network with relevance

Don’t try to network with anyone and everyone. Restrict your professional contacts and engagements to people and businesses in your industry – those whom you think it would be beneficial to develop a connection with. Don’t forget that the relationship has to be beneficial for them too.When considering a new connection, identify three things: their area of expertise, how they might be able to help you out professionally, and how you might do the same for them. These three factors will help you determine whether a business connection will be relevant or not.

Rule 5. Don’t expect too much

Again, this comes back to the point about equal business relationships. Don’t ask more of your connections than you’d be willing to give yourself. Exchanging advice, assistance and services is fantastic, but make sure you draw the line. As a professional, there are certain things you would not do without charging a fee. If you’re expecting someone else to give you these things without you paying for them, you’ll quickly lose their interest and respect.

Networking can often lead to successful partnerships, in which one or both parties employs the other to complete work with or for them. You need to recognise when it’s time to stop asking for services and start paying for them instead. And again, this goes both ways – don’t be afraid to charge people for your services when you think the time is right to do so!