Netiquette for Educators

Joni Turville

E-mail and other forms of electronic communication have become important means of communication in our society. Educators must recognize this phenomenon and prepare their students and themselves for using electronic communication effectively.

Many people who use computers have never been taught network etiquette, or "netiquette." There are many practices that are considered standard in Internet circles. I also have my preferences that are based on my bias as an educator. Netiquette can apply to communication such as e-mails, listservs and newsgroups/web boards.

General Netiquette

The following points apply to all types of electronic communication:

  • Make your messages concise.
  • Be professional and courteous—you are representing the teaching profession.
  • Set an example as an educator by using proper spelling, grammar and capitalization—even if this isn't always the standard.
  • Don't use all capitals in your subject line or in your message unless you want to emphasize something. It is considered the equivalent of SHOUTING. If you want to make a point, try using *asterisks* or _underscore_ around the word or phrase you want to stress.
  • Give your message a meaningful subject heading that reflects the content of the e-mails. It helps the recipient to sort them easily.
  • Clip the content of the original message in a reply and include only the part that is pertinent, that way the reader doesn't have to scroll forever to remember what was said.
  • Ask the original author's permission before forwarding his or her message to someone else.
  • Be careful with humour and sarcasm. Without the benefit of body language or vocal inflection, your words can be easily misinterpreted. Try using "smileys" (http://members.aol.com/bearpage/smileys.htm ) or "emoticons" if you want to make sure the reader knows you are joking (but sparingly, because they can be annoying.)
  • Use acronyms sparingly (for example: IMHO = in my humble opinion, BTW = by the way), as some readers may not know what they mean. A list of commonly used Internet acronyms and emoticons can be found at (http://www.pb.org/emoticon.html ).
  • Never give anyone else your login identification or password.
  • Remember that new users may make mistakes. Be patient.

E-mail Netiquette

E-mail is one-to-one communication and requires that we adjust our style somewhat from traditional letter-writing. In addition to the general guidelines for electronic communication above, consider these points:

  • Include a signature line at the end of your e-mail that contains your title, address and phone number so people have other ways to contact you if it becomes necessary. Most e-mail programs have functions that enable you to create a signature line that will appear automatically on the bottom of all your outgoing mail.
  • cc (carbon copy) or bcc (blind carbon copy) to your own e-mail address if you want to keep a copy of an e-mail. It will show the date and time the message was sent.
  • Use virus protection software and scan attachments before opening them.
  • Never assume that e-mail is completely private. It is a good practice to never send anything that you wouldn't want shared in public.
  • Don't attach large files without the permission of the user. Some people may have slower connections. Sending a large video file as a joke, for example, might end up not being very funny if it ties up the recipient's computer for a long time. A better idea is to limit attachments to text only, and use ftp for large ones.
  • Don't send "carbon copies" of those funny e-mail jokes to everyone you know. People are busy and it's good to check with them to make sure they want to be receiving this type of mail.
  • Don't use HTML or special settings in your e-mail like special fonts or colours. Many older e-mail readers won't be able to recognize them (and many users find them annoying).

Listserv Netiquette

A listserv is an automatic mailing list to which people subscribe by sending an e-mail that puts them on an electronic list. When an e-mail is posted to the listserv, everyone receives that same message through his or her own e-mail.

Listservs are a way for educators to communicate and benefit from the collective wisdom of colleagues. The downside is that if you subscribe to several listservs, you may end up with many e-mail messages in your mailbox each day. After using them for a while, you will become adept at deciding what to keep and what to delete by reading the subject lines. I also have a separate e-mail account for busy listservs so I can sort through them at a convenient time. For this purpose, try free services like Hotmail, Yahoo Mail or mail.com so they don't clog up your most frequently used e-mail address. Listservs are a one-to-many means of communication. Understanding how they work is a key for using proper etiquette.

  • "Lurk" on a new list for a while, so you can get a feel for the kind of messages and responses that are posted.
  • Look for a "help" page or read the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) for the list if they are available.
  • After you subscribe, save the message you receive in a special folder. It will give you the necessary information if you want to unsubscribe later on.
  • Consider apologizing for "cross-posting" if you send the same message to mailing lists that are closely related.
  • Consider including a notation in your subject line (for example, [long post]) if you are posting a note that's particularly lengthy.
  • Share what you know. It's what makes listservs exciting!
  • See if there is a "nomail" command, or unsubscribe from a list if you will be away for a period of time and don't want to have hundreds of messages waiting for you when you get back.
  • Remember that new users make mistakes. Be professional and patient.
  • Don't post to the entire list when a personal e-mail reply to one person will do.
  • Never leave the auto-reply on your e-mail (for example, when you go on holidays) or a message will be sent from your computer to everyone on the list each time you receive a message.
  • Don't flame. "Flaming" is a barrage of angry e-mail directed towards a person or persons.
  • Don't just repeat or agree with what has already been said. Your "I agree" will go to a long list of people who will be annoyed at having to delete a message without useful content.
  • Don't post a message that is critical of a colleague (or might be perceived as critical). It might hinder someone from posting or participating in the future.
  • Don't post anything you wouldn't want turning up later. Many listservs archive their messages.

Newsgroups/Message Board Netiquette

There are different types of programs (Web boards, newsgroups, online forums and conferences) that function like an "electronic bulletin board" for people with a common interest. They can be Web-based (so you would use your Internet browser to read and post messages) or newsgroup-based (you would use your news server and use a software program, like the news part of your email software).

They are a one-to-many form of communication where people post messages in a public place and others may respond. The benefits are similar to those of listservs in that these types of communication allow educators to share what they know with others. The difference is that the messages don't go through e-mail, but are posted in a public place. Some of them are "threaded," this means that discussions relating to the same topic are kept together and others are sorted by the date they are posted. The dos and don'ts are the same as those for listservs.

All of the ideas given for e-mail, listserv, and message board netiquette sound like a great deal to remember, but I think much of what has been said can be summed up in the following four statements:

  1. The online world is similar to experiencing a new culture. When you travel to another country, you follow its socially accepted guidelines, and online behaviour is no different.
  2. It's worldwide. The things you post on public discussion groups and newsgroups are available for the entire world to see. Even e-mail can't be assumed to be completely private.
  3. It's a reflection of you. The things you communicate through e-mail, listservs and discussion groups are a reflection on you and your organization.
  4. Using online communication can seem impersonal, but remember that there are human beings with feelings on the other side of your screen.

For more information, including information for student and teacher lesson plans linked to the Alberta Information and Communications Technology Program of Studies, visit the Teacher and Student Guide to Netiquette (http://www.spschools.org/rhem/netiquette/index.html ).

Useful Resources

  1. 1. Listservs for teachers—Check out Topica's listing of listservs for educators at http://www.topica.com/dir/?cid=4 .
  2. 2. Visit "we-do" (http://edweb.gsn.org/wwwedu.html ). The "traffic" is quite heavy, but it's a huge listserv with an active and knowledgeable membership. It's my favourite!
  3. 3. Education Newsgroups—An extensive listing of newsgroups pertaining to different educational issues is available at http://www.educ.drake.edu/rc/Newsgroups.html .
  4. 4. Classroom Connect Online Discussion Groups—You need to register first (it's free). Under the "Connected Teacher" link is a "Teacher Talk" section with many different and moderated forums (http://www.classroom.com ).

References

Boston Public Library. (2000). Netiquette for kids. [Online]. Available (http://www.bpl.org/www/KIDS/Netiquette.html ).

Computer Ethics Institute. (1997). The ten commandments of computer ethics. [Online]. Available (http://www.fau.edu/netiquette/net/ten.html ).

Dark mountain's netiquette guide (no date). [Online]. Available (http://www.darkmountain.com/netiquette/index.shtml ).

E-mail netiquette guidelines. (1999). [Online]. Available (http://eleccomm.ieee.org/email-netiquette.shtml ).

Netiquette (no date). [Online]. Available (http://www.primenet.com/~vez/neti.html ).

Netiquette. (1998). [Online]. Available (http://www.iwaniw.gq.nu/netqtt.html ).

Netiquette. (1997). [Online]. Available (http://jade.wabash.edu/wabnet/info/netiquet.htm ).

Netiquette guidelines. (1995). [Online]. Available (http://www.stanton.dtcc.edu/stanton/cs/rfc1855.html ).

Rinaldi, A. (1998). The net: user guidelines and netiquette. [Online]. (http://wise.fau.edu/netiquette/net/netiquette.html ).

Some thoughts on netiquette. [Online]. Available (http://www.phish.net/discussion/netiquette.html ).

Joni Turville is an ATA Instructor and coordinator of the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement, St. Albert Protestant Schools. She is completing her master of arts in Instructional Technology at the University of Alberta.