On review of some e:mail running back and forth within a close group, recently, I was reminded that there are some informal rules of "Netiquette" that we all should pay attention to. Therefore, I am posting this Netiquette page here, with pointers to other resources on the internet as a reminder to all within my circle of contacts of some very important guidelines. As much as anything else, so I can review them from time to time to remind *myself* of the rules of the game. So if you are among those I have pointed in this direction, please realize that I am first reprimanding myself for going beyond good practice in some recent e:mail exchanges, and apologize to one an all for that.

Here is a quote from one of the recognized leaders in providing guidelines for reasonable internet usage, specifically regarding e:mail conventions:

It is essential for all users on the Internet to recognize that they are responsible for their own individual actions while using the net. Netiquette is simply the use of common courtesy and polite behavior while using the net. Some basic rules of email netiquette are:
1. Check your mail often, delete or download messages as needed.
2. Word your messages carefully to avoid misunderstanding.
3. Limit replies and forwarding, it's easy to overdose on email.

Many of us may have been guilty of getting carried away with the fun of sending on jokes and funny stories to friends and family. For the most part, the ones participating in this enjoy the chuckles these provide. On the other hand, I have a number of relatives and friends whose internet connection is solely through their workplace. Many businesses that have internet connections do not encourage their employees to use it for any other purpose other than company business. Some could even get in trouble, not for sending out jokes and funny stories, but *just for getting them* from someone else, like a well-meaning parent, sibling, cousin, or friend.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I'll tell you what I have decided about this particular matter. I will *not* send anything conceiveably of a frivolous nature to any of my internet contacts where the internet connection appears to be through their place of employment. Why? Undoubtedly the company provides them the internet connection in order to advance their business interests. They may have dozens of important communications flowing across their screens daily. They simply do not need to have long lists of jokes or other non-business matter clogging up their e:mail screens.

But there is another side to this coin. Perhaps our family organization is sending out information about a Family Reunion; somebody may need some information from the person whose only internet connection is through their employer's place of business, or a range of other legitimate reasons for sending them a message. But my advice to all those with whom I routinely connect on the internet is: "Don't send junk mail to people's worksites." And, if somebody does not like getting such things at home, either, then don't be offended if they ask you to cut the trash mail. They are just adhering to good standards of Netiquette, and may also have very important material flowing through their e:mail, and don't appreciate it being cluttered up with forwarded jokes that simply have too many headers, etc. For further guidelines, I have quoted some, and provided links to others that are good to keep in mind:

Actions which are routinely allowed on one network/system may be controlled, or even forbidden, on other networks. It is the users responsibility to abide by the policies and procedures of these other networks/systems. Remember, the fact that a user can perform a particular action does not imply that they should take that action.

The use of the network is a privilege, not a right, which may temporarily be revoked at any time for abusive conduct. Such conduct would include, the placing of unlawful information on a system, the use of abusive or otherwise objectionable language in either public or private messages, the sending of messages that are likely to result in the loss of recipients' work or systems, the sending of "Chain letters," or "broadcast" messages to lists or individuals, and any other types of use which would cause congestion of the networks or otherwise interfere with the work of others..

Keep paragraphs and messages short and to the point.

When quoting another person, edit out whatever isn't directly applicable to your reply. Don't let your mailing or Usenet software automatically quote the entire body of messages you are replying to when it's not necessary. Take the time to edit any quotations down to the minimum necessary to provide context for your reply. Nobody likes reading a long message in quotes for the third or fourth time, only to be followed by a one line response: "Yeah, me too."

Capitalize words only to highlight an important point or to distinguish a title or heading. Capitalizing whole words that are not titles is generally termed as SHOUTING!

*Asterisks* surrounding a word can be used to make a stronger point.

Be professional and careful what you say about others. Email is easily forwarded.

Cite all quotes, references and sources and respect copyright and license agreements.

It is considered extremely rude to forward personal email to mailing lists or Usenet without the original author's permission.

Be careful when using sarcasm and humor. Without face to face communications your joke may be viewed as criticism. When being humorous, use emoticons to express humor. (tilt your head to the left to see the emoticon smile)

Acronyms can be used to abbreviate when possible, however messages that are filled with acronyms can be confusing and annoying to the reader.

Examples:

IMHO= in my humble/honest opinion

FYI = for your information

BTW = by the way

Flame = antagonistic criticism

Just because you don't get a message back right away, does that mean the person didn't receive it? They could have been on vacation, on a leave of absence, did not feel like answering your mail, were having a problem with their mail system, had a prejudice with all people with the same last name as yours...... It is the human element - and a system forced "receipt" i.e. "you got this, so why aren't you answering it" - *can* be considered to be an invasion of privacy.

Generally messages will go through. If an invalid address is specified in most cases a "postmaster" message will be sent to you. If the message is extremely important - once again, send a personalized message asking for confirmation of receipt.

Electronic Mail is the most popular application on the Internet. Email is a powerful communication tool and is usually the first application mastered by new Internet users. One of the most valuable features of communicating via email is that it is "asynchronous," meaning the recipient need not be at his/her computer in order to receive the message you send. The message will be stored and available to be read when the recipient is ready to read it. Email allows you to communicate with people across the globe just as easily as with people in the next office. Messages can be directed to individual recipients or to distribution lists. Distribution lists allow you to communicate with 100's or 1000's of people by sending a single email message to the list. Email is a fast and effective way of communicating over the net. How to Use Email In order to send and receive email, you must have an account on the Internet and have access to an electronic mail program. You must also know the correct Internet email address of the person(s) with whom you wish to communicate. Some common email programs are Pine and Elm on Unix machines and Eudora for Macintosh and Windows. Each program operates differently, but they will have many of the same features. Some essential features which should be present in an email program are: Send mail - ability to send email messages to Internet addresses Receive mail - ability to receive mail addressed to your email account Reply - respond to messages you have received Forward - send a message you receive on to another recipient Save - ability to save messages you have received Print - ability to print messages you have received Address Book - ability to store email addresses of regular correspondents Anatomy of an Email Address An Internet Email address will consist of three major parts: Username @ Machine Address nlombardo @ ecclab.med.utah.edu president @ whitehouse.gov The username is the unique name assigned to the user of an Internet account. The @ sign separates the person from the Internet computer where mail is received. The machine address is the domain name of the Internet host, or mail server. Anatomy of an Email Message Each email message has two basic parts, a header and a body. The header contains information about who sent the message, the date, time, and subject line. The subject line is an important element in the email message. Be sure to indicate what your email message is regarding. This helps the person receiving the message determine its priority. The body contains the actual text of the message. Here's an example: [DRAFT ENDS HERE}