What happened to your netiquette? Sound advice before you post
Have you ever vented your anger at someone on an internet message board, or rashly updated your Facebook status with negative comments? If so, you're not alone because many otherwise perfectly rational human beings have a habit of going ballistic online.
The internet has always been a place for freedom of expression, with strong language, heated debates and personal attacks from anonymous posters ubiquitous. I've experienced online haters myself, albeit mildly. Last year, I wrote an article on digital television for a technology website, and the next day the editor phoned me up. "You might want to take a look at the comments on your article," he said. I wish I hadn't bothered. I'd made a small mistake when writing about transcoding compressed stereo signals which had ruffled some feathers in geekdom; more than 30 negative comments followed my article, the first few from someone identifying himself as "Shadow" brazenly accusing me of all sorts of things, and the rest a free-for-all between various posters. The language was far more colourful than anything I was allowed to write, that's for sure. I quietly corrected my mistake and never looked at the page again, but only after a few days mentally compiling a vengeful reply to Shadow over and over again.
Arguments escalate very quickly on the internet. Maybe I'm more sensitive to language than most, but I even find posts that begin, "the fact is" or "with the greatest respect" aggressive. I have little chance of keeping my cool in such forums, but it's those who post diatribes and bad language online who have the most to lose. The internet was once seen as a transient medium, but digital footprints don't go away, and with social media sign-ins used increasingly on comment boards, anything written on the internet could affect your future prospects with both partners and employers.
We need some netiquette - and fast. "Anonymity and not having to make eye contact are very emboldening for some," says Judith Kallos, an online etiquette expert at US-basedNetManners.com who has some advice for anyone posting comments on the internet. "Keep the conversation on track using acceptable language and sticking to facts without adding any personal digs or controversial terms. If you need to resort to name-calling or profanities that indicates your ideas are not really based on any substance."
What about netiquette in the new age of social media? "Social media is very narcissistic and I don't think many understand where to draw the line between what they are public about because, by its very nature, social media is 'all about me'," says Kallos. Shorter interactions online - such as on Facebook - are potentially easier to misinterpret. "Folks will always assume what the other side meant. If you don't know the person, if they are not a true friend - by definition of what a friend really is - you just can't assume what they mean, but we do. The other side also has the responsibility to take the time to ensure that their intent, tone and meaning are clear, regardless of how short their message is. But most don't do that, either," she says.
However, Kallos doesn't think there is anything new to add to these rules. "Everything we talk about when it comes to e-mail etiquette applies, regardless of where or how you are posting," she says, although there are some culture-specific nuances to netiquette: "In Asian cultures, how you are addressed is important - become too informal too soon and you risk insulting the other side. The key is to use technology with knowledge, understanding and courtesy."
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