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Netiquette
or "Net Etiquette" is simply the protocol
or the proper way to behave while on line. Netiquette was generated
from the online community as an essential component to create order
in the decentralized Internet world. So, when you go online, you must
realize there is a certain way to act and a certain way you are expected
to behave. If you don't follow these guidelines, you are almost assured
of being attacked, insulted and FLAMED by others you will encounter
online. Here are some of the basic rules:
-
- Do
unto others as you would have others do unto you
- Be
Polite
- Remember
you are dealing with real people
- DO
NOT TYPE IN ALL CAPS. Doing this indicates to people that
you're shouting and it will most definitely annoy others.
- Maintain
ethics. Just because they can't see you doesn't mean it's
an all out rudefest...and don't do anything illegal or anything
that you would be ashamed to put your name on.
- Think
before you Type. Always remember, when you communicate online,
your words are written and are forever immortalized in type.
In fact there are computers whose only job is to save everything
you ever write in a public forum, especially the newsgroups.
- Lurk
and Learn. This simply means when you enter into a Newsgroup
or Chat Session, just hang back for awhile before you enter
into the conversation.
- Read
The FAQS first!!! When checking out a specific Newsgroup,
never jump in without reading the list of Frequently Asked
Questions first. If you don't and ask a question already listed
in the FAQ'S, you will get FLAMED.
- Avoid
Flaming whenever possible. "To Flame" means to communicate
a specific criticism or opinion of another without any consideration
to being tactful. Flaming is basically an all out, aggressive
reprimand of an unacceptable behavior of another.
- Never
SPAM. What you say? Spamming is where one uses a large mailing
list, USENET forum or another networked community and they
send one message to a group of people who never asked for
it in the first place! Why not Spam?? Because, in the Net
community, it just won't fly!
- Be
Nice to Newbies!
Once you get online and feel confident, always remember, you
were a Newbie once too...so, have patience, and be nice with
new folks "online".
That
Personal Touch: Emoticons and Acronyms! Hey ;-)
BTW,FWIW,IME,WYSIWYG.......
- Translation....
- "By
the way, for what it's worth, in my experience, what you see is
what you get!!"
These
capitalized abbreviations were originally developed to shorten the amount
of time spent on line, to get a specific point across as well as present
one's own personal flare. It's not necessary to utilize acronyms, however,
if it suits your style, go for it! Here are a few more abbreviations
for your espressive self!
| ADN |
Any
Day Now
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| AFK
|
Away
From Keyboard
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| AWGTHTGTTA? |
Are
We Going To Have To Go Through This Again?
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| B4N |
Bye
for Now
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| BBS
|
Bulletin
Board Service
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| BIF
|
Basis
In Fact
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| BL
|
Belly
Laughing
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| BRB
|
Be
Right Back
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| BTW
|
By
The Way
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| CU
|
See
you
|
| CUL
|
See
you Later
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| DTRT |
Do
The Right Thing
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| FAQ
|
Frequently
Asked Question
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| FISH |
First
In, Still Here
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| FYI
|
For
Your Information
|
| GAL
|
Get
A Life
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| GIWIST
|
Gee,
I Wish I Said That
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| IAC
|
In
Any Case
|
| IC
|
I
See
|
| ILY
|
I
Love You
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| IME
|
In
My Experience
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| IMHO |
In
My Humble Opinion
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| IOW
|
In
Other Words
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| L8R
|
Later
|
| LOL
|
Laughing
Out Loud
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| NBIF |
No
Basis In Fact
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| OIC
|
Oh,
I See
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| POV
|
Point
Of View
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| ROFL |
Rolling
On Floor Laughing
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| ROFLAHMS |
Rolling
On Floor Laughing And Holding My Sides
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| TTBOMK
|
To
The Best Of My Knowledge
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| WFM
|
Works
For Me
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The
way you typically use acronyms is to sprinkle them throughout your
text. Now some people aren't very fond of using acronyms and believe
the words in their entirety have more impact. I'm sure you will run
across some of these abbreviations in your Net explorations and this
listing may be helpful for you to decipher the "secret code".
Another
way to express your personality via email, chat, newsgroups, etc,
is to express your own personal flare with mini-graphics, created
by using the digits on your key board. To end a sentence with a smile,
you can simply type a colon : for a pair of eyes. A hypen - for a
nose and one half of a paranthesis ) for a smile...( this one for
a frown. J (my program will not allow a regular smiley!). All you
have to do is tilt your head to the left and you'll notice the graphic
has more meaning. Here's a list of a few more pictorial expressions
which can spice up your communications. Utilizing these emoticons
are not essential, but can be fun.
| :
- ) |
Smiley
with Nose
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| :
) |
Smiley
without nose
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| :->
|
Another
Happy Face
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| :*)
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Clowning
Around
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| %-}
|
Silly
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| :-r
|
Bleahh
(sticking tongue out)
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| :-f
|
Smirk
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| :-l
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Disgusted
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| :-!
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Foot
in Mouth
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| :-J
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tongue
in cheek comment
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| :-o
|
shouting
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| :-b
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Tongue
stuck out
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| :
- ( |
Unhappy
Smiley
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| :-x
|
kiss
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| [[
name]] |
hug!
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| :-X
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not
saying a word
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| Î-)
|
ink
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| (-_-)
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Secret
Smile
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| :@
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What???
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One
thing is highly apparent in the Internet community. People are progressive
and do appreciate good humor. Smiley's, as these graphics are generically
referred to, are another way to add a "face" to your text!
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