Composing Messages: A Netiquette Primer

Now that you are ready to send some mail, you should know that there is some basic etiquette to communicating on the Internet.

  1. Be polite. Address people in an appropriate and respectful manner.
  2. Sign your name.
  3. Don’t nest tons of messages in a single message.
  4. Consider your audience. In messages to strangers, acquaintances, or large groups, spell things out.
  5. Don’t write anything you want to keep private. Once a mail message is out there, system administrators have access to it, and savvy hacker types can get at it, too. Some companies may monitor employees’ email.
  6. Don’t fan the “flames” other people start—that is, don’t let yourself get dragged into an online brawl.
  7. Write as if you were writing an English paper when writing to an adult—no IM spelling!

Remember that all of the nonverbal clues we employ readily in other forms of communication are missing. The result is the miscommunications abound online.

Communicating over the Internet involves a few shorthand forms that help to clarify meaning: smileys, abbreviations, signatures, and formatting conversations.

Smileys  A simple way you can clarify your meaning.

:-) smile

:-( frown

;-) wink

:-l straight face

:-0 surprise!

Signature Files

When you receive an email message, you should find the person’s proper email address among the message’s header lines. A signature file is a short text file your mailer appends automatically to mail messages and Usenet news posts to let people know something about you. Putting your email address in a signature file ensures that people you send messages to can reach your. To create a signature file, check your mailer’s help files.

Abbreviations

Acronym / Meaning
BRB / Be right back.
BTW / By the way…
GMTA / Great minds think alike.
IMHO / In my humble opinion
IMO / In my opinion
IMNSHO / In my not so humble opinion
LOL / Laugh out loud
OTF / On the floor (laughing)
OMG / Oh my gosh/god
ROTFL / Rolling on the floor laughing
TTFN / Ta Ta for now
TTYL / Talk to you later
WB / Welcome back
WTG / Way to go!

There are many more—but these are the abbreviations adults will most likely recognize.

Formatting:

BE AWARE THAT USING ALL UPPERCASE LETTERS IS CONSIDERED SHOUTING AND IS DISCOURAGED!

Creating and using stationary:

Some mailers also allow you to create stationery. Again, check your mailers help files.

:-D ?

(person laughing)