NETIQUETTE

Here are some things you need to remember to be a good Internet user. Be careful of what you send or type. There are many rules for you to follow. Here are only some:

1. Be tactful- Do not make fun of someone disabled or someone who has mental problems. You might hurt their feelings. Try praising them or try asking them what sort of things they like or want to be instead. We have to respect other people’s feelings. Be careful when you are using the Internet. If you regret what you said then you must apologize to that person and explain your mood. Maybe that person will accept your apology. So remember, be careful.

2. Bite your tongue. To bite your tongue is to watch what you say/ type. If you are in a bad mood, do not send messages/ e-mails to people showing that you are feeling angry. They might think you are angry at them when they didn’t do anything wrong to you. If you do so , you will feel guilty of what you have done after you sent your mail or comment.

3. Don’t use all uppercase. When we are sending a message to someone, try not to switch on your Caps Lock button. It is because, you will be considered rude if you do that. The person who received your message might think you are trying to be rude or really angry at them. You can use Caps Lock unless you want the person to really remember/ notice the word(s) you typed.

4. Mind your language. DO NOT use bad words online. Try to be more polite . So remember, mind your language.

5. Watch your words. Do not type something hurtful online. Carefully choose the choice of words you are using. Reread the text you have typed. Check if you have grammatical errors or the choice of using wrong words. So, be careful.

6. Respect confidentially- Don’t post mail sent by someone to you without his/her permission. If the person who sent you a mail that said about her/his secret YOU must NOT publish that on your blog or website. That will show that you do not respect that person’s feelings and her/his secrets that she/he told you. REMEMBER! The person might not want to be your friend or never want to talk to you again.

7. Keep it simple- Express yourself in simple English. Try not to use English that is so hard to understand that he/she has to use a dictionary to find out the meaning of the text/ word you typed. Avoid using to many Smilies. The receiver of your sent e-mail might not understand what you mean. They might think you are really sad or faking it. So remember, DO NOT do that.

8. Don’t be a Grammar pedant- Do not be too petty on the Grammatical errors your friends typed on his/her mail that he/she sent to you. The only thing that matters is that you understand his/her message that the person typed. If the person has too many grammatical errors in his or her mail then you could tell the person about it. So REMEMBER to DON’T Be A Grammar pedant…..

9.Use plain text- Do not use HTML on your e-mail you send to other people. The other person might not understand what is HTML or how to read it. So try not to use HTML. Some people know how to read HTML while a lot do not. So that particular person will not know what you are typing.

10.Warn if you might spoil a surprise- To warn if you might spoil a surprise means to tel if you know that something bad is going to happen and you inform everyone else to warn them about it. Example: Lets say in a football match some syndicates did something to make the opposing team win and your team that you are supporting loose you would tell your family /friends to warn them to tell any of their friends that do betting to not bet. It is all because you already know about that. That way you could help people save their money.

11. Never post ads (advertisements) – We should only post commercial ads on the Internet. Commercial ads mean like advertisements for selling clothes and so on. If you want to post an advertisement for movies like in the cinema then you should mention the age limit for those particular shows. Lets say like it’s a violent movie. The age limit should be 18 years old and above. But still you all must remember that we should not post ads on the Internet especially if it is not suitable for small children/children/teenagers to see. Because you will never know if those ads just pop out of know where and it so happens it pops out on the computer a child is playing with. So you know children are not supposed to see all those things.