English Composition 1
Netiquette: General Guidelines
Everyone in English Composition 1 Internet needs to understand what is proper and what is not when communicating with others via the Internet. In her book Netiquette, Virginia Shea's first rule of Netiquette is "Remember the Human," and that's an important point. When communicating electronically, it's easy to forget that you are still communicating with other human beings, with real human feelings, and that's something that we all need to remember.
Studies have shown that people tend to be less inhibited when communicating electronically than when communicating in person, and sometimes this lack of inhibitions can lead to rudeness and a disregard for the feelings of others. Therefore, a good general rule of netiquette is never to say anything to anyone via electronic communication that you would not say in person. I would not want anyone in the class to feel inhibited from expressing his or her views honestly to others, and, in fact, exposure to different views and beliefs is an important part of the learning experience. However, we have to express our views politely, even when we disagree with the ideas of others.
Realize as well that much of our face-to-face communication relies upon non-verbal elements. In person, someone may say something to you that could be taken as rude or offensive, but that person's tone of voice, facial expressions, or body language might make it clear that he or she is only joking or being sarcastic. However, because non-verbal elements are almost completely lacking in written electronic communication, anything that could be taken as rude or offensive probably will be. "Emoticons," those little smiling or frowning faces formed from symbols on the keyboard, are the only non-verbal elements we have in cyberspace (if we are not using audio or video technologies), and emoticons are a poor substitute for the complexities of non-verbal communication. :-(
There is another important reason to be polite when communicating electronically. We all have probably said something to others that we later regretted. Perhaps we were angry and blurted out how we felt at the time, only to realize later that we may have over-reacted or behaved inappropriately. It's usually easy to learn from such incidents and then to put them behind us. Unlike words spoken in anger, though, angry words sent via electronic communication have a stubborn way of hanging around. Even if you delete a nasty message you sent to someone else, maybe as a way to make yourself feel a little better, whomever received your angry message will still have a copy of it, and it's hard to forget the angry words of others when we can reread them anytime. Another general rule of electronic communication is never to send a message to someone else if you are angry at the recipient of the message. Give yourself some time to cool down, and you'll probably end up finding that you don't need to send the nasty message after all.
Expressing our ideas in a polite and rational way is especially important considering that you will be reading and critiquing the work of other students in the class, identifying strengths but also offering suggestions for improvement. When I was a graduate student, I remember well completing a paper that I knew was really good. When we discussed my paper in class, though, several students pointed out what they felt were problems with the paper. I was defensive. I worked long and hard on the paper, and I entered the classroom thinking that it was as good as it could be. I defended each aspect of my paper that others criticized, hardly thinking rationally as I tried to defend what I later realized were some weak parts of my paper. I made that discovery later that night--the other students were right. I thought I had made a fool out of myself in class, and I probably did. I ended up using those constructive comments from other students as I revised my paper, making it much more effective than it was when I first brought the paper to class. I learned a valuable lesson that day, and maybe you can learn from my mistake. Be open to comments from other students, from your readers, as they offer suggestions for making your writing even stronger. And, of course, try to convey your comments on the work of other students in a constructive, polite, and rational way.
For the most part, the rules of netiquette you need to follow in our class are simply a matter of common sense. When you were a child, your parents no doubt told you not to be rude to others, and that pretty well sums up proper netiquette. On the Netiquette at a Glance page, though, are a few more specific guidelines, covering both proper and improper behavior when communicating electronically in our class. Please read these guidelines carefully.