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La collaborazione al blog è aperta a tutti con alcune regole.

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Per collaborare in modo continuativo con articoli veri e propri occorre essere iscritti al Gruppo Ambiente (si otterrà il ruolo di “autore” e maggiori privilegi di personalizzazione della pagina e di amministrazione del proprio spazio).

Ogni 10 articoli postati si potranno anche ottenere per questo anno scolastico 100 punti bonus per la propria classe (Concorso “Libretto di risparmio energetico”).

La Redazione cerca anche collaboratori come responsabili di sezioni del blog.

Per proporsi come autori/autrici o per entrare nella redazione inviare un profilo personale (nome cognome, classe, interessi e motivazioni alla collaborazione) al seguente indirizzo e-mail:

trentagatti@alice.it

sarete contattati dall’Amministratore del sito e capo della Redazione

netiquette (o, in parole facili: cosa non fare quando si scrive sul blog)

1) La pazienza dei lettori non è infinita: postate articoli di lunghezza sopportabile (40 righe massimo).

2) La pazienza dei lettori non è infinita: postate commenti sintetici (5, 6 righe), evitate commenti come “Beeeeelllloooo” o “Bruuutttoooo”. Non servono alla discussione e sono spam perché occupano spazio (e sarebbero eliminati).

3) Il blog non è un “fritto misto”: questo blog è tematico cioè di occupa di temi ambientali. Prima di postare un testo sul compleanno di vostra cugina controllate se l’argomento rientra nelle categorie di temi di cui si occupa il blog (natura, ambiente, scienza, rifiuti, energie, animali, software libero, eco-compatibilità e simili). Se vi piace bloggare dei fatti vostri potete procuravi uno spazio tutto vostro su Blogger. com o WordPress. com

4) Il blog non è un forum: se volete chattare o entrare in forum di discussione non è questo il luogo. Evitate di scambiarvi commenti ai commenti come fosse una chat ed evitate di litigare (altrimenti i vostri commenti saranno eliminati dalla redazione aumentando il lavoro della stessa inutilmente).

5) Usate un linguaggio corretto: nel blog si discute non si litiga, ci si ascolta, si legge con attenzione anche se si hanno opinioni molto diverse; ci si rispetta e confronta anche vivacemente ma senza saltarsi addosso.

6) Una forma di rispetto è anche controllare di non pubblicare testi pieni di errori di battitura, 0 ripetitivi (se avete espresso una opinione in un post e altri ve la commentano essendo contrari, non ha senso riscrivere la stessa opinione 10 volte … annoiate chi vi legge).

7) Usate un linguaggio semplice, non per iniziati, non pieno di abbreviazioni: se siete espertissimi di reattori nucleari o hardware per il routing stellare o del cinema ambientalista di un regista di Signa o Timbuctù ricordatevi che scrivete qui per informare chi esperto non è.

Buon lavoro e collaborate in tanti: questo blog vive se lo fate vivere, se no chiude.

La redazione

In my deepening commitment to sound completely stoned at all times even though I am not stoned:

Seeing Animal Collective (as Avey Tare & Panda Bear) in a waterlogged basement in Oberlin, Ohio, in 2000 or 2001, one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, and then watching them get bigger over the years, playing stadiums… it naturally frames the decade for me. And aesthetically, they do feel representative of the “aughts”: the bending of form with the simultaneous deep commitment to pop; the use of electronics, samples, etc., with the simultaneous deep commitment to rock… the fetishization of fauna…

—”Mouseman Praetropica,” on Carrie Brownstein’s NPR “Monitor Mix” blog

[edited to how it should have been written before it was sent. Plarf noop kroppa tingles-shone skrappppt]

Auch wenn man per Internet schneller und direkter mit anderen kommunizieren kann, heißt das noch lange nicht, dass man jegliche Umgangsformen beiseite lassen könnte. Gerade in der Geschäftskommunikation finde ich den richtigen Umgangston wichtig! Denn ja: auch in der geschriebenen Sprache gibt es einen Tonfall.

Ungefragtes Duzen in Geschäftskommunikation

Man mag mich für altmodisch halten, aber mir stößt es auf, von Unbekannten in meinem Agenturblog oder in Anfragen per Mail ungefragt plump drauf los geduzt zu werden. Vor allem, wenn ich selbst in meinem Postings die allgemeine Leserschaft immer mit Sie anspreche. Schließlich wird hier geschäftlich kommuniziert.

Duzt mich jemand auf Facebook oder Twitter, tut dies aber in einem höflichen Ton oder verbindet es mit einem Dankeschön für die von mir erhaltene Hilfe, duze ich gern zurück.

Ich-will-Mentalität

Besonders stößt es mir aber auf, wenn ich zum wiederholten Mal anbiete, EinladungsNOMINIERUNGEN für Google Wave zu verschenken, und sich manche (v.a. mir unbekannte) Leute nur mit einem grußlosen “ich will!” melden. Andere machen sich nicht mal die Mühe, das dazugehörige, wirklich kurze Blogpost zu lesen, sondern beschweren sich auf meine Meldung über die stante pede verschickte Nominierung hin sofort, dass die Einladung noch nicht da sei, und wollen gleich noch eine.

So etwas ärgert mich gewaltig! Und auch auf andere Leser solcher Kommentare macht das keinen guten Eindruck! Wer so postet, hat von Onlinereputation nicht viel begriffen…

Gute Beispiele

Zum Glück gibt es auch andere, die höflich mit einem umgehen und sich v.a. darüber im Klaren sind, dass ich hier keine Dauergratisberatung anbieten kann. Leute, die sich bedanken, wenn ihnen ein Blogpost, das eBook oder meine Antwort auf ihre Rückfrage geholfen hat. Manche hinterlassen mir dafür sogar eine gute Rezension auf meiner Fanseite.

All diesen Lesern möchte ich an dieser Stelle auch einmal Danke sagen!

]]> http://ashleyfmiller.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/netiquette/ Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:30:41 +0000 ashleyfmiller http://ashleyfmiller.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/netiquette/

I received an e-mail from a director who is looking for a script and who was told to e-mail the Nicholl Semi-Finalists. He sent a mass e-mail that had all of our e-mail addresses in the TO: field.

After replying with my logline and synopsis, I included a PS about how impersonal it is to send an obvious mass mailing and that not everyone wants their e-mail to be revealed to a bunch of strangers, and that he should BCC in the future.

I mean, maybe that’s not cool of me, but I feel like someone should tell him. Maybe he just doesn’t know about the BCC. And he really should. Because I don’t really mind having the e-mail addresses of my fellow semi-finalists, but they might mind.

Bisher hatte ich noch keine rechten Erfahrungen mit online-Diskussionen, finde nun aber diejenigen auf Moodle  (für IKT und BP) ganz interessant: was am Anfang gewissermaßen ein “Muss”, da eine Aufgabe war, hat sich dann zu einer ganz spannenden Diskussion entwickelt, die man tatsächlich mit verfolgt und kommentieren möchte.

Der große Vorteil ist, dass man bezüglich seiner Beiträge in Ruhe überlegen und formulieren kann, anders als in einer realen Diskussion, in der man sehr gut vorbereitet sein muss oder unheimlich schnell reagieren muss. Viele wichtige Ideen oder Gedanken gehen dabei unter, weil sie einem nicht schnell genug oder an unpassender Stelle in den Sinn kommen oder im allgemeinen Gefecht einfach untergehen. Bei solch einer asynchronen Diskussion kann man sich ohne Druck intensiver beteiligen und ist auch zeitlich unabhängiger. Man liest und beantwortet die Beiträge vor allem dann, wenn man ein wenig Muße dazu hat. Das eigene Meinungsbild kann sich im Verlauf deutlich ändern, viel stärker als nach einer realen Diskussion, in der man meistens einfach von einem Faktum überzeugt wird. Indem man die Beiträge der anderen Forenmitglieder liest und kommentiert, werden stattdessen vielfach neue Aspekte offen gelegt, die dann wieder in das eigene Meinungsbild integriert werden können oder zu neuen Ideen führen. Gut finde ich auch, dass man “immer” zu Wort kommt, ohne den anderen in seiner Redezeit einschränken zu müssen oder ihm ins Wort zu fallen oder “ihm das Wort im Mund herumzudrehen” …

Von Nachteil ist, dass man Missverständnisse nicht gleich ausräumen kann, z.B. einen Begriff, den man vielleicht in einem anderen Sinn verwendet hat,  als der/diejenige, der kommentiert. Die Grundlagen sind manchmal einfach nicht diesselben, so dass es hin und wieder sinnvoll ist, den Begriff  im eigenen Beitrag von vornherein zu definieren. Überhaupt ist die Tatsache, dass man alles schriftlich macht, schon einmal in der Hinsicht schwierig, dass man sich beim vielen Posten manchmal selbst ein wenig zu widersprechen beginnt. Allerdings kann man natürlich, wenn Missverständnisse auftreten, wieder mit einer ausführlichen Antwort bzw. einem Beitrag reagieren. Und da wären wir beim zweiten Problem: mit der Zeit und steigender Beitragsanzahl wird der Beitrags – Antwort – Baum absolut unübersichtlich und man kann häufig die Zugehörigkeit einer Antwort zu einem Beitrag nur durch Herumscrollen herausfinden. Schon aus diesem Grund ist es sicherlich sinnvoll, solch eine Online-Diskussion zeitlich zu begrenzen, zumal man in den Unter-Unterantworten immer wieder eher über Detailfragen diskutiert.

Ich habe keine Erfahrung damit, wie und in welchem Maße die Netiquette in solchen Foren für gewöhnlich geachtet oder verletzt wird. Da es Anleitungen, wie diese gibt, treibt die Anonymität im Netz sicher hässliche Blüten. Andererseits ist die Anonymität sicher der beste Schutz bei Online-Diskussionen – ich denke da nur an Selbsthilfegruppen für Suchtkranke usw.

Author: Sky Croeser
Date: Sunday, October 25, 2009 9:01:18 PM WST
Subject: Official ‘Introduction – Your Internet Footprint’ Thread

This part of the unit encourages you to think about how the online medium affects our communication with others. It will also encourage you think more deeply about how we present ourselves online, and the ways in which information about us accumulates online.

There are plenty of issues that could come out of the lecture, and the topic more generally. Here are a few to start you off, but don’t feel like you have to answer them all. Answer whichever questions are interesting to you, and feel free to raise other issues and ask other questions:

* How important is ‘netiquette’ in our presentation of self online? Why do you think this?
* What does your own Internet footprint look like at the moment?
* Did you try out the MIT personas installation? Were you surprised by the results? What does this tell you about the efficacy of data-mining?
* Do you think carefully about what identity you want to present
online?
* Do you use an avatar online? If you do, why did you pick that avatar?
* Do you agree that the presentation of identity has become technologised? What effects do you think this is having on us as individuals and as a society (or societies)?
* Are there cues or keys that you consistently look for in dealing with people online. What are they? Why are they important? Why are they important online?
* Do you agree that social media is a fundamental shift in how we communicate?
* How actively do you ‘read’ others’ profiles online? Do you look for clues as to who other Internet users are in their online content?

Netiquette is very important, the number of times you get an email and its all caps, you just know that the person behind the text does not care. It is very impolite not to exercise netiquette and I believe it can tell you about a person just by their type. Just like in real life you are rude, abuse and yell you will not get very far, whereas if you are polite and show respect you will get a lot more out of people.

Currently I do not have much of an Internet footprint; I use Facebook and was using MySpace for wahile before leaving that. I just did a quick Google search and found my Net11 Blog and my Facebook page, that’s about it. On the other hand my company name has 100’s of listings in Google. (what I am after, so thats good)

I did try the MIT personas installation, took quite awhile, I cannot say I was suppressed by the results, it knows me so well with the large percentage in fashion. From this data-mining has a long way to go and I am sure that the algorithm behind the script would require a great deal of tweaking.

I am very careful of what I post online or send in an email. With my use of social networking sites I have to be aware of what I post online, since I run an online business I do not want to get involved in a colliding network.

I have never used an avatar, however, I do use a nickname for MSN and ICQ, strangely after meeting some people after communicating online with instant messaging they still call me by my nickname.

You’ve heard of etiquette and netiquette, now get autoquette.
Rule 1: NO PARKING IN FRONT OF THE LOWERED KERB BY MY SCHOOL, OR IN FACT ANY LOWERED KERBS ON MY ROUTE TO/FROM SCHOOL OR ANYONE ELSE’S!!!!!!!!!! (Maybe too much of that was capitalised)
For two years, I’ve had to bump up and down the kerbs (I cycle to school) on either side of a small road next to the path along the front of my school, but when I came back to school in September this year, there was a lowered kerb! The bumping (and damaging your suspension) days were over! The next day I had to bump again because some person’s car was parked right along the whole lowered bit on one side.
So the first thing in my book about Autoquette will be (if I ever get round to writing a book):
Parking in front of a lowered kerb is the same as admitting you are a dickhead.

As you can tell. I find it very annoying.

—I haven’t had a drink since Saturday.

—It’s Wednesday.

—I know

—You sound like an alcoholic.

—I know. It still feels good not to drink. I’m going to keep going with it.

—Good! That’s good.

—Every time I make a proclamation like this I immediately undermine myself, but I sort of want to become totally straight-edge: no booze, no drugs, no meat, no stimulants, no sex——

—you should allow yourself coffee. And sex.

—Maybe sex but no coffee. I am going to be 100 percent clean and talk like a stoner. I’m going increase acid and pot jokes by 112 percent.

—Why?

—I think they’re funny.

—What’s an acid joke? Or a pot joke? Pretending to be high?

—More like pretending to be the kind of guy who thinks the current situation would be “so crazy” if we were high. Which, actually—

—isn’t an imagined scenario at all. That’s actually what you’re thinking.

—Kind of. But I exaggerate it for the joke. [Paws. Pause. Prawns. Pornography under a tree in a State Park. Soft chili. Your knees. Ad nauseum. Ad mauseum. Bistro BlackBerry. My bad.] It will be hard to go to rock shows without hoisting beers.

—No way, dude. That’s the best place. There are always buttoned-up punk-rock weirdos who don’t consume anything except unrefined spelt kujaxx they dumpstered out of satan’s halo or whatever

—Right! Awesome. Then I’m all set.

[The camera zooms slowly, inexorably ("steadily") ("nervously") in on dude's breast pocket. Using "special effects," the camera penetrates the fibres of dude's flannel breast pocket, revealing a small composition notebook and a pen. Scrawled on the front of the notebook in black ink: DIARY. We don't notice that the scene has switched to animation, or that the background has fallen away, so now a cartoon composition notebook floats on a perfect black background. Awesome music. The word DIARY starts to jiggle and shiver in the way that animated but static text does (cf text in title sequences of The Simpsons, Dr. Katz). The I in DIARY tumesces like a cock or a flower, it's ambiguous. It grows up and then bends over like a stamen, dude, slowly planting itself down on the other side of the A. For a hot moment, the A is covered in an arc. An arch. Maybe it flash-embellishes itself into an arc d'triomphe. Then the original base of the I lifts off the ground, wiggles, falters, and starts detumescing back over to the right side of the I, until it's returned to its original size, and the word reads: DAIRY. The phrase should begin in black ink on a reddish background, but by the end of the metamorphosis the word is milky white, on the same reddish background. Awesome music. The notebook's cover opens of its own accord. The page is blank, but as the rich basso profundo voiceover begins, his words appear in blue ballpoint upon the lined pages. His pace is measured, if not ponderous. What the fuck!!!]

PROFUNDO NARRATOR: I read the news. Every week. It enriches me. I love to be informed.  But I read it [to be continued...]

Di Ken Denmead – Fonte: www.wired.it

Quando ero piccolo, ad essere fortunati, avere un telefono in camera tua (o addirittura un numero di telefono personale!) era un rito di passaggio fondamentale dall’essere bambini a diventare adulti. Un po’ come comprare la tua prima macchina, o aprire il tuo primo conto in banca, avere un telefono tutto tuo era un passo verso l’indipendenza e una maggiore maturità nel rapporto tra genitore-figlio.

Oggi il telefono non è più il mezzo standard di comunicazione fra i tredicenni. Email, instant messenger e i social network sono la forma di comunicazione più comune tra i teenager e nuovi studi hanno mostrato che la cosidetta generazione Y fa sempre più affidamento sull’email o altre forme preferite di comunicazione.

Questo significa che i bambini crescendo diventano sempre più dipendenti dalla tecnologia e da internet.

Dal momento che non abbiamo ragioni per dubitare che questo trend si arresterà, siate consapevoli di quanto sia cruciale il momento in cui creerete il primo indirizzo e-mail per i vostri figli, tenendo a mente che nel futuro prossimo sarà questo il loro mezzo di comunicazione preferito.

Ora starete probabilmente pensando: “Voglio che mio figlio si goda i benefici di internet come me, ma sono preoccupato di quello che potrebbe succedere quando non sono presente”. Adam Thierer della fondazione Progress & Freedom ha fatto un report sul controllo che dovrebbero avere i genitori e l’importanza di insegnare ai bambini a fare un uso sicuro della rete.  Un’altra grande risorsa per tutelare la sicurezza dei vostri figli quando sono online è GetNetWise.org: un sito che contiene dei suggerimenti sulla navigazione online e su come riportare i problemi in cui ci si imbatte.

Non esiste un solo modo giusto per insegnare ai vostri figli a navigare in internet, ma, come sostiene il rapporto di Thier, i genitori hanno la responsabilità di insegnare ai bambini una vera e propria netiquette. Così come i bambini imparano ciò che è giusto e sbagliato nella vita offline, allo stesso modo è necessario che vengano guidati nella vita online. I vostri bambini, in quanto tali, seguiranno i principi e le guide che gli avete inculcato sin dalla nascita. All’inizio per evidenziare l’importanza della privacy e della sicurezza online, è importante che siate vicini e che seguiate i vostri pargoli mentre si cimentano nell’arte della navigazione web.

Secondo un pezzo apparso di recente sul New York Times a proposito di genitori e figli online, è importante che i genitori abbiano la stessa etichetta online che vogliono far adottare i propri figli. Ad esempio, quindi,  non postate troppe informazioni personali come foto, data di nascita e indirizzo di casa se non volete che lo facciano anche i geeketti, mettendo a rischio la riservatezza di famiglia. Allo stesso modo, dovreste rispettare la loro privacy (evitando di postare una loro foto  su Facebook per esempio, per poi accorgervi che è stata utilizzata come pubblicità su qualche sito).

Il primo passo da compiere con i principianti digitali, dunque, è sicuramente una lunga chiaccherata sulla responsabilità da assumersi per una condotta appropriata online. Chiarite quale sarà l’uso del loro indirizzo email e cercate di capire cosa loro si aspettano di farne. È necessario trovare l’equilibrio giusto tra il fidarsi completamente dei propri figli quando mandano email ed esplorano la rete da soli e controllarli a vista: meglio sapere cosa stanno facendo ed essere in guardia su potenziali situazioni a rischio.

Avere un indirizzo email è il primo passo nello stabilire la propria presenza online e la propria identità digitale. Non si è mai troppo vecchi (o giovani!) per mettere la privacy in prima linea quando si tratta della propria vita online. Questo è un elemento chiave nella guida all’utente del futuro.

Ecco qualche regoletta che potreste impartire ai vostri pargoletti pronti a spiccare il primo volo nella rete:

1. La regola di non parlare mai con gli sconosciuti vale anche online. Internet è un luogo molto grande ed è nato per aiutare le persone a connettersi nonostante la distanza geografica che li separa. Non solo i vostri figli si incontreranno con i propri amici (e purtoppo anche nemici) ma incontreranno anche nuove persone con cui condividono certi interessi. È importante insegnare ai propri figli che, allo stesso modo in cui non si accetta mai un passaggio da uno sconociuto, non dovrebbero mai rispondere a delle mail mandate da estranei.

2. Tratta il tuo indirizzo email come tutte le tue proprietà. L’account email è tuo, e solamente tuo. Non devi condividerlo con nessuno se non vuoi. Insegnate ai vostri figli a stare attenti a chi daranno il proprio indirizzo email.

3. Leggi ogni modulo che compili, inclusa la normativa per la tutela della privacy. I moduli da compilare possono essere molto dannosi in quanto ci si potrebbe esporre troppo o iscriversi a una lunga lista di email pubblicitarie o a catena senza rendersene conto. Assicuratevi che i bambini leggano tutti i dettagli dell’iscrizione ad un nuovo account. Potreste sedervi e farlo con loro. Mentre compilate il modulo, fate attenzione ai box già cliccati. In genere questi stanno a significare che volete apparire nei risultati di ricerca pubblici. Ma per avere un indirizzo e-mail non è necessario che siate rintracciabili.

Il vostro indirizzo email, proprio come il vostro numero di telefono, è vostro e potete farne quello che volete. Prestate attenzione a tutte le caselle e le opzioni, per non parlare delle importantissime notificazioni sulla tutela della privacy (da notare quella di Facebook, per non parlare di quella di Google). I siti web non si fanno alcun problema a collezionare informazioni su di voi, senza che voi lo sappiate. È necessario sapere quali informazioni son state raccolte e come si può optare fuori dall’iscrizione. In questo modo i vostri figli non cadranno vittime di truffe online o di phishing.

4. Non dare nessuna informazione personale senza il permesso. Come annonato nella Guida alla privacy online, è necessario far capire ai vostri figli quali sono i pericoli nel pubblicare informazioni come la loro età, il loro nome, l’indirizzo o il numero di telefono, senza il vostro permesso.

5. Mantenete un diaologo costante con i vostri figli sul loro uso di internet e chiedetegli con chi parlano. Internet è uno strumento di partecipazione, perciò è giusto che siate partecipi alla vita online dei vostri figli.  Chiedetegli a chi mandano le email (non in tono di accusa, ma nello stesso modo in cui potresti chiedere: “con chi hai giocato oggi a scuola?) e com’è la loro esperienza online.

I vostri bambini dovrebbero sentirsi a proprio agio a confidarsi con voi, in particolare se si imbattono in situazioni di cyberbullismo. Secondo il Berkman Center for Internet & Society dell’università di Harvard il cyberbullismo, specialmente quando perpetrato dai compagni o dai coetanei, è più comune (.pdf) degli altri rischi online.

A questo punto non ci resta che dire un’ultima cosa: Congratulazioni! State allevando un figlio nell’era digitale, e non è cosa da poco. Sarà un po’ come educare un Luke Skywalker piuttosto che un Jabba the Hutt nella comunità online mondiale!

Buon lavoro! E buona fortuna!

Recieving emails: 

Reply to sender.  When someone asks a question or sends a request for information, be nice and reply the same day.  If you cannot give the answer needed at that monent or need time to respond, it is polite to acknowledge that you did recieve the email.  That way they are not left wondering if it was recieved, sent to junk or to a wrong address.

Well that completes this overview.  Some people mentioned they liked it adding it was so timely and a good refresher. I hope others enjoyed it as much as I liked learning a thing or three. 

As always I wish you Abundance in all you set your hands to do. 

Tommorow… The start of the winter displays.  I know it is early-but I cannot help myself.  There is so much to do.  Inside Chocolate and Bronze outside  SHH it’s still secret.  Off I go….

Sending email messages.  Most of us today use emails as our sole means of communicating with one another, please keep in mind that the receiver is another human being at the other end of your email messages.  Said as a reminder as sometimes it gets forgotten in the business of life.

Be brief: Match your subject line to your message and keep it as brief as possible.  Most people are swamped with emails in the inbox and too many are too long to read or do not relate to the subject box.

Use white spaces: It really looks better and is easier on the eyes.  Click a space before you begin to write your message and between paragraphs.  Links, put them on a separate line and indented like this,

                                 http/www.emporiumnh.com

Write good subject lines…short and to the point of the article, ex:  MISC is bad…Re: tickets for the play tonight…better.  Follow it with an email topic that is in line with subject.

Be careful sending attachments.  Not everyone has a speedy internet service.  When in doubt, ask.  Also, don’t send an attachment to lots of email addresses at one time.  The same for forwarding messages.  It is better to cut the enormous amount of listed emails included in a recieved email before you forward it on to another. 

Helpful hint:  Always include your email address to the end of your email message.  It is a helpful tool for the recipient.  You can add it to your signature.  Now that I will set up today.

Do not FLAME:  Flaming is the act of sending an outrageous insult either by posting it publicly or privately because of a difference in opinions.  In life people rarely trade insults as they do on the internet.  A good flame mixes a razor-sharp wit with a devastating put-down so that the other person will only make themself look silly if they dare disagree here is an example of what a flame looks like…”The absurdity of your ideas is exceeded only by the incoherence of your remarks, beginning with…” 

It is never the best way to handle situations.  Take disagreements off-line.   A flame often times makes the sender feel good and satisfied, but in fact it is genuinely hurtful and should always be avoided.  Better to disagree and speak intelligently than to attack and kill any means of correcting a misunderstood or badly worded email.  Again, sometimes emails are just a misunderstanding were the sender just does not express their thoughts well therefore not understood correctly.  It is best to ask for clarification first. 

Well that is part two.  I know I learned a thing and maybe three. 

Untill next time..as always

I am wishing you a day full of “Abundance” in all you set your hands to do.

Karen

 Next, How to Receive.

I think handwriting is sadly underused and at the same time email makes our world of communication happen at lightning speed and what would we do without it?   As we are only human we often forget our manners and the rules of Etiquette or in this situation Netiquette.  I was thinking about it and thought perhaps I might not be the only one that would like an update, so I am going to share what I found that struck a NICEer cord in an effort to remember we are speaking to other human beings when we use the ever present anonomous email.  This is my Operation NICE project please visit  http://www.operationnice.com and see what others are doing to make others think for a moment and feel better about themselves. 

“Netiquette” stands for “Internet Etiquette”, and refers to the set of practices developed over the years to make the Internet experience pleasant for everyone. Like other forms of etiquette, netiquette is primarily concerned with matters of courtesy in communications.

Netiquetee basics:

Newbies.  We have all been there, be nice and share with a newbie you know and someday they will do the same.

Save Recipients Time.  Read FAQ’s and/or do a quick research before asking a question, when ever possible.  It makes you look smart and curtious.

Remember Emotions. Don’t use capitals unnecessarily in email — it designates shouting, and is considered rude, as in the following:  

I THINK THE FACTS PROVE THIS POINT.

If you want to emphasize a word, use stars or underlines sparingly.

I think the facts *prove* this point.
I think the _facts_ prove this point.

You can use smileys sparingly to signal emotions like smiles, winks, sadness, surprise, etc.

I wish I’d read this before!   
I wish I’d read this before.   

Remember that subtle emotions and meanings do not transmit very well over email. Satire and humour is particularly hard to transmit, and sometimes comes across as rude and contemptuous. Particularly avoid sarcasm, which rarely communicates well. Similarly, don’t over-react to email or postings you receive. What looks to you like an insulting or mean message may only be an absent minded and poor choice of phrasing, and not meant the way you perceived it.

Be particularly polite when disagreeing with others. Wherever possible, acknowledge good points made, and then respectfully describe the areas where you disagree to produce the most productive conversation.

Well, that is all for today.  I will continue untill completed.  I hope you enjoyed this so far.  Please let me know.  Please visit my web page www.emporiumnh.com to see what is new at The Emporium and Simply Divine Proportions. Your Home for Elegant Resale and women’s plus size resale fashions.  I believe you can just as easy click on my Avatar and it will bring you there.

Wishing you an Abundant Day!

Karen

I read many sites regarding this subject.  Two I want to share and one that I shared from was 

                               http://www.livinginternet.com and a

                           Netiquette Blog written by David Tuffley.

• La netiquette di Facebook. Ce ne sarebbe da aggiungere (ma tanto non posso più usarlo, that’s life). Veramente ci sarebbe da far fare un ripasso obbligatorio corale dell’educazione in genere, a tutti. Non su Internet. Nella vita proprio
• Autoritratti caravaggeschi nascosti. Mi piacciono queste chicche (se sono vere e non sono costate anni e anni e anni di studio a qualche nullafacente figlio di papà)
• Una bella analisi di una notizia che, a naso, ieri mi era già parsa un’emerita ca%%ata. E si è dimostrata tale. Con sudore della redattrice che ha dovuto smascherare e sbugiardare un titolista esagerato (e pure un po’ ‘gnurante), e quanti gli sono andati dietro
• L’uomo dei sogni. Nel senso che pare compaia nei sogni di tante persone. Suona di bufala. O di “epifania collettiva”, siamo bravi a lasciarci influenzare. A me sembra più degli incubi e, fortunatamente, non faccio parte del gruppo di chi l’ha visto
• Google Discover Music. Forte! Come sempre…

I’ve recently started teaching basic classes focused around web resources and tools (i.e., Twitter, Facebook, RSS readers, etc.). At a Facebook Basics class last month, a couple of participants )parents of local high school students) suggested the library host an information session about responsible, conscientious use of social networking tools for parents and teenagers to attend. The more I thought about it, the more I thought it was something my branch could successfully provide.

CC Image courtesy of Ann Douglas on Flickr

After rolling around the idea in my head (and getting over the initial fear about presenting to parents about social networking), I decided that it was a perfect opportunity to collaborate with other librarians in the area. I was lucky enough to have a Youth Services librarian from my branch, as well as the media specialist from the local high school, agree to help the conceptualize and present.  Both were equipped to contribute fabulous personal experiences, as well as a keen knowledge about social networking.

The main point of the session was to clarify some common misconceptions about social networking, as well as to help start a dialogue between parents and their teenagers about safe and responsible social networking.  The challenge: creating balanced content for an audience of parents and teenagers.  We wanted participants to leave the session knowledgeable about responsible social networking, not scared to death of it.

CC Image courtesy of sunside on Flickr

Rather than doing a straight presentation with powerpoint slides, we decided to go with a more interactive apporaoch.  We created 10-12 statements that participants would vote on whether they were fact or fiction.  Participants were given cards to vote in response to each statement.  It gave us a great overview as to what the audience really knew, didn’t know, or were unsure about.  After each statement, the answer was revealed, and the “panel of experts” (made up by the three of us) gave examples and covered talking points related to reasons the statement was either fact or fiction.  In between each statement, there was a steady flow of questions from the participants, especially when discussing why a certain statement was true or false.

All in all, the presentation was a success.  Participants seemed appreciative for the opportunity to attend, as well as for the materials they walked away with regarding social networking etiquette, safety, and resources.  Out of the 20 people that attended, only 3 were teenagers.  It would have been a nice perk to get more of the parents’ children there.

As always, not everything was perfect.  There are a few things we may do different for the next time:

1. Provide an overview and/or demonstration of Facebook and MySpace.  This presents a challenge, because showing the anatomy of a Facebook profile can be an hour-long session on its own.
2. Provide screen shots of examples from Facebook and MySpace.  Some of the statements we discussed revolved around “tagging” photos.  An image of what a tagged photo looks like, as well as the information it conveys, would be a nice addition.
3. Revamp some of our Fact/Fiction statements.  Toward the end of the session, some of the statements seemed repetitive.  It gave us a way to see if participants were starting to understand certain concepts to social networking, but it certainly could be perceived as redundant by participants.

All in all, it was a positive experience.  And I love the foundation we’ve set for future presentations.  I look forward to presenting it again in March with some updated, revamped materials.  If you’re interested in the Fact/Fiction statements we used, please feel free to contact me.

A man came running to Socrates with a rumour about one of his students.

Socrates: Are you sure what you wish to tell me is true?
Man: No, not entirely sure….
Socrates: Then do you know it to be good?
Man: No, in fact….
Socrates: Then at least is it useful to me?
Man: No, not quite.
Socrates: Then if what you wish to tell me is neither true, nor good, nor useful, why tell it to me at all?

There was a time when a medium where all of humanity could interact quasi-anonymously and unbound by geography seemed like a good idea. It was naïvely assumed that such exchange would lead to a more enlightened world, that people would shed their prejudices in the face of the truth that we are more alike than not and share many of the aspirations and anxieties of those that we hate.

Then the Internet was invented and it became apparent that left to themselves, six billion primates will soon descend into name-calling, semi-literacy, fraud, and spam. It’s sweet and cuddly to believe in the wisdom of the many and the inherent humanity of the human race, but the truth is that most people are quite unlikely to contribute to either the combined smartness or niceness of humanity. As a species, we’re mostly dumb and hateful. Not everyone can have an advanced understanding of quantum physics and higher mathematics (like most of the nice aliens in most of science fiction – Vulcans, Asgard, Flouwen, you name it), but everyone can afford to be respectful. You don’t need to pretend to agree with everyone else, because that’s plain dishonest. But you can choose to make intelligent, reasoned, civil statements instead of trolling cyberspace and contributing nothing good or useful. On the contrary, if all you can think of is LOL FAG DIE!!!, then go play somewhere else. Or with yourself. What else are the tubes for?

If you have ever wondered about Facebook and Twitter, and the tremendous affect they have on our communicative ways, this article is for you. This article raises interesting thoughts about how communicate now and how we could in the future. Give it a read and let me know what you think.

From The Wall Street Journal

Email has had a good run as king of communications. But its reign is over.

In its place, a new generation of services is starting to take hold—services like Twitter and Facebook and countless others vying for a piece of the new world. And just as email did more than a decade ago, this shift promises to profoundly rewrite the way we communicate—in ways we can only begin to imagine.

We all still use email, of course. But email was better suited to the way we used to use the Internet—logging off and on, checking our messages in bursts. Now, we are always connected, whether we are sitting at a desk or on a mobile phone. The always-on connection, in turn, has created a host of new ways to communicate that are much faster than email, and more fun.

If someone sends you an incendiary or insulting email, do not respond immediately.  Do not dwell on it.  Do not read it over and over, which will just make you angrier.  If you can, let it sit for a few hours or even overnight.  If the one who sent it is sitting on top of his/her computer waiting for a response, this will drain some of the steam out of that person like a bag of microwave vegetables.

When you do respond, respond in a calm and professional manner.  Avoid arguments over email and especially “Reply To All” arguments.

From  the Culture and Manners Institute at http://www.cultureandmanners.com

Recent studies conducted by the Pew Internet and American life Project, as well as the Synovate market research group, found that people are ruder online than in person. The studies point out that more than a third of those surveyed are quite aware of the fact that they use language or words online that they would not consider using in person. I am sure this is no revelation to anyone who spends even a small amount of time online, but it does point to a developing situation that could undermine civility in America and around the world.

It is obvious that when we communicate using technology, we isolate ourselves from those we are communicating with and that sense of anonymity drives us to overstep the boundaries of appropriate behavior. And yes, there are those who believe there shouldn’t be rules pertaining to proper online behavior and that anything goes when they go online. Even those folks who are shy and retiring in person can have major personality shifts when they go online. I suppose their perceived power online could be intoxicating to some.  

Is this behavior just a function of the growing online population? Can it be reversed? It’s probably too early to tell, but something should be done. Given we are dealing with the world wide web, government intervention is not an option. Maybe a grassroots movement to encourage civil discourse on the web would be a first step.

Below I have listed The Core Rules of Netiquette from the book, Netiquette, by Virginia Shea. Ms. Shea understands the problem and provides a really good set of rules that people can use to avoid being rude online. I have also included brief portions of Ms. Shea’s explantions for each rule.

Rule 1: Remember the Human The golden rule your parents and your kindergarten teacher taught you was pretty simple: Do unto others as you’d have others do unto you. Imagine how you’d feel if you were in the other person’s shoes. Stand up for yourself, but try not to hurt people’s feelings.

Rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life In real life, most people are fairly law-abiding, either by disposition or because we’re afraid of getting caught. In cyberspace, the chances of getting caught sometimes seem slim. And, perhaps because people sometimes forget that there’s a human being on the other side of the computer, some people think that a lower standard of ethics or personal behavior is acceptable in cyberspace.

Rule 3: Know where you are in cyberspace What’s perfectly acceptable in one area may be dreadfully rude in another. For example, in most TV discussion groups, passing on idle gossip is perfectly permissible. But throwing around unsubstantiated rumors in a journalists’ mailing list will make you very unpopular there.

Rule 4: Respect other people’s time and bandwidth It’s a cliché that people today seem to have less time than ever before, even though (or perhaps because) we sleep less and have more labor-saving devices than our grandparents did. When you send email or post to a discussion group, you’re taking up other people’s time (or hoping to). It’s your responsibility to ensure that the time they spend reading your posting isn’t wasted.

Rule 5: Make yourself look good online I don’t want to give the impression that the net is a cold, cruel place full of people who just can’t wait to insult each other. As in the world at large, most people who communicate online just want to be liked. Networks — particularly discussion groups — let you reach out to people you’d otherwise never meet. And none of them can see you. You won’t be judged by the color of your skin, eyes, or hair, your weight, your age, or your clothing.

Rule 6: Share expert knowledge The strength of cyberspace is in its numbers. The reason asking questions online works is that a lot of knowledgeable people are reading the questions. And if even a few of them offer intelligent answers, the sum total of world knowledge increases. The Internet itself was founded and grew because scientists wanted to share information. Gradually, the rest of us got in on the act.

Rule 7: Help keep the flame wars under control “Flaming” is what people do when they express a strongly held opinion without holding back any emotion. It’s the kind of message that makes people respond, “Oh come on, tell us how you really feel.” Tact is not its objective.

Rule 8: Respect other people’s privacy Of course, you’d never dream of going through your colleagues’ desk drawers. So naturally you wouldn’t read their email either. Unfortunately, a lot of people would.

Rule 9: Don’t abuse your power Some people in cyberspace have more power than others. There are wizards in MUDs (multi-user dungeons), experts in every office, and system administrators in every system. Knowing more than others, or having more power than they do, does not give you the right to take advantage of them. For example, sysadmins should never read private email.

Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people’s mistakes Everyone was a network newbie once. And not everyone has had the benefit of reading this book. So when someone makes a mistake — whether it’s a spelling error or a spelling flame, a stupid question or an unnecessarily long answer — be kind about it. If it’s a minor error, you may not need to say anything. Even if you feel strongly about it, think twice before reacting. Having good manners yourself doesn’t give you license to correct everyone else.

Ms. Shea’s book is available online through Albion Publishing at www.albion.com.  It should be mandatory reading for every one who goes online. Maybe, just maybe, we can encourage a higher level of civility on the internet and net etiquette can be resurrected.

I have written about this issue in the past, and I am sure I will write about it again. The internet is a wonderful tool for gathering information, social interaction and broadcasting one’s opinions. If we can keep in mind that there are human beings on the other end of the wire who might be interested in what we have to say, but won’t get the message if we shove it down their throat, maybe we can carry on civil dialog, get our ideas and opinions across to those folks and make some new friends at the same time.

What’s your take on this issue? Am I too much of a prude to expect proper behavior from those on the other side of my computer screen? Comment on Linkedin and/or on my web site, www.BoomerOpinion.com. We are always looking for Baby Boomers with an opinion that don’t mind speaking out and can successfully complete a sentence.

There is a bowl of chili here.

Steam rises from its beans and meatflecks. It billows politely around a dollop of cold sour cream.

As you gaze into the stew, my face—the face of a young, obese Steven Spielberg, “replete” with undirty baseball cap and full Jewish hair fanning out from beneath the cap’s circumference—appears to you in the chili-steam.

My spirit is evoked by the hot bowl of cooling chili!

Here I am! Who has summoned me?

I have bad news! You are pregnant!

No, that’s not fair. No one’s pregnant. I’m writing this Tale of the Beans for myself, because I feel burnt out.

I’ve more or less finished “Big project number one.” Now I have “time” to finish Big Project Number Two.

But my brain and me bones won’t cooperate.

I feel up against—a figurative wall.

My posture is bad, my breath bad.

I need a full day of Turkish Delight and instructional sex videos and Everything Is Terrible and hash amulets and K-holey sensory deprivation chambers and home fries and Chocolate Labrador Affection-Slaves before I can “restart” and knock BP#2 outta the park.

LIKES:

• Bloody Marys
• Black Humor
• Girls
• Dogs
• Feelin healthy

DISLIKES

• Talkin loud about your bullshit weekend on yr cellphone
• bad communicators I need things from
• rumor-mongering in flip-flops
• institutional racism
• genocide
• factory farming
• hate crime
• the tickle monster (ambivalent)

LIKES:

• Eating an endless bowl of soup whilst reading something that lays flat by itself (saddle-stitched magazine, broken-spined novel)
• hugging naked women (sorry just kidding)
• dead therapists
• my good personal friend who brought me an awesome gift pak just now containing:
• Zingerman’s ZZang! candy bar
• Crystal Geyser carbonated orange water
• large bag of zen party mix

MORE LIKES:

• playing drums behind messy, “avant-pop” guitar played by a close  friend
• reading poetry aloud whilst drunk
• drunk weeping emotional confessions of platonic love
• 90s releases on Matador & Drag City
• indie-rock jukebox
• friendly non-threatening dj

DISLIKES

• relentless negativity
• bodily harm
• ailments
• internet addiction/fatigue
• a short-story collection I was excited to read which ended up contrived and annoying
• the feeling that that well-dressed handsome asshole is going to steal my girlfriend
• fear of The Road–style apocalypse where I am crippled by night-blindness and urbane cluelessness w/r/t farming and self-defense and so am helpless as zombies/marauders rape my loved ones and disembowel me with improvised weapons

LIKES:

• Pickles, other pickled vegetables
• british tv, british fiction, hypothetical british or angolophile or at least anglophone girlfriend
• england
• scotland
• martin amis, david lodge, julian barnes, will self, douglas adams, kingsley amis
• nabokov
• DFW, fiction and non, plus all interviews with and articles about and reviews of
• unexpected sexual encounters with wild animals (gazelles, rhinos)

• unexpected emails from charming, literate geniuses
• really smart little kids who are interested in what you have to say and who you are even though they should be repelled by your oafish weird-smelling adult self-consciousness
• the netherlands
• stanley crawford, norman rush
• interactive fiction
• the way the internet used to look
  
• spelling wordz in a funnnn way to express yr feelings

DISLIKES:

• Feeling burnt out
• feeling like I am helpless to be/sound impossibly twee
• being a fat guy wearing a sweater/cardigan over button-down shirt with corduroys and sneakers standing looking uncomfortable in a record/book store or rock show
• anything peeing in my face

LIKES:

• Dropping a $10,000 experimental Army Discman off the chairlift and nearly killing a billionaire’s daughter snowplowing down a green-circle “easy” run
• imagining i am holding a hatori hanzo sword and disemboweling myself with it
• beck (sometimes/some songs)
• duck tales theme song, chip and dale’s rescue rangers theme song
• making jokes about the vagina monologues that go over well
• letters from attractive friends
• a disproportionate number of things published by Picturebox and Buenaventura Press
• Sam Lipsyte
• Will Eno
• “Samuel Beckett”

DISLIKES:

• Aggressive, aggressively crazy crazy people
• languagey prose that’s pointlessly, contrivedly languagey and involuted and pretentious
• self-consciously flat, plainsong prose is just as bad
• conservative, lyrical but not too lyrical middle of the road prose that tries to strike a balance between the first two but ends up doing itself no favors, wimp out, wipe out
• sportslords
• devilbunnies
• celiac mousepadz

LIKES:

• The sound of the words “Doogie Howser”
• tamari almonds
• carob
• I keep stopping myself from saying more about “the female form,” jeez, sorry
• a secret different christina ricci who no one knows about, only me
• my own private idaho, gus van sant in general
• dennis cooper, incl. his poetry
• denton welch
• edmund white
• david sedaris in conversation with dennis cooper, that would be awesome, who could make it happen, get on it

DISLIKES:

• I am more or less monolingual
• I am more or less monomaniacal
• I am pretentious
• I have turned my back on They Might Be Giants and MC Paul Barman
• I am mean to my friends
• I murdered my therapist and have to spend my life in jail (NOTE TO DEPT OF ALCOHOL, FIREARMS, TOBACCO: I WRITE FICTION ON MY BLOG SOMETIMES, I DIDN’T KILL ANYONE, I PROMISE)
• this quote (wells tower via jawbone) annoyed me:

the idea of blogging seems really weird. I don’t know why writers do it. The idea of writing in a way that’s not careful seems kind of insane if you’re a fiction writer, or a long-form nonfiction writer. Maybe there’s something invigorating about it, but for me so much of the process is worrying about every word — just belching a bunch of stuff out there seems strange. Also the web is really weird. I don’t like the idea that stuff you write is just going to be on there, and people will be able to access it whenever, forever. A piece of writing should have its own little half-life and when people are no longer interested in reading or anthologizing, it should be forgotten.

Surely in general the writing that’s on blogs isn’t as careful as the kind of spit-polished prose that goes into journals or collections. But there’s nothing about the medium itself that means the writers using it aren’t being careful, and are just belching. Which is to say: revision is possible on the internet, and there’s PLENTY of belching going on in journals and books published by major publishers. And doesn’t all writing begin with a belch, a burp that then gets refined and revised until it’s distilled into a few vaporized bay leaves, a few million atoms of slow-simmered chili steam?

I’m not a big fan of political chain emails. I got one the other day, though, that made me raise an eyebrow, and do a little digging.

I found the article on which the email was based:

First Lady requires more than twenty attendants
By Dr. Paul L. Williams Tuesday, July 7, 2009

By the staff of thelastcrusade.org

Update: First Lady Now Requires 26 Servants

“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” —Albert Einstein

“In my own life, in my own small way, I have tried to give back to this country that has given me so much,” she said. “See, that’s why I left a job at a big law firm for a career in public service…” — Michelle Obama

No, Michele Obama does not get paid to serve as the First Lady and she doesn’t perform any official duties. But this hasn’t deterred her from hiring an unprecedented number of staffers to cater to her every whim and to satisfy her every request in the midst of the Great Recession. Just think Mary Lincoln was taken to task for purchasing china for the White House during the Civil War. And Mamie Eisenhower had to shell out the salary for her personal secretary.

How things have changed! If you’re one of the tens of millions of Americans facing certain destitution, earning less than subsistence wages stocking the shelves at Wal-Mart or serving up McDonald cheeseburgers, prepare to scream and then come to realize that the benefit package for these servants of Miz Michele are the same as members of the national security and defense departments and the bill for these assorted lackeys is paid by John Q. Public:

1. $172,2000 – Sher, Susan (CHIEF OF STAFF)
2. $140,000 – Frye, Jocelyn C. (DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND PROJECTS FOR THE FIRST LADY)
3. $113,000 – Rogers, Desiree G. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND WHITE HOUSE SOCIAL SECRETARY)
4. $102,000 – Johnston, Camille Y. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE FIRST LADY)
5. Winter, Melissa E. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY)
6. $90,000 – Medina, David S. (DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY)
7. $84,000 – Lelyveld, Catherine M. (DIRECTOR AND PRESS SECRETARY TO THE FIRST LADY)
8. $75,000 – Starkey, Frances M. (DIRECTOR OF SCHEDULING AND ADVANCE FOR THE FIRST LADY)
9. $70,000 – Sanders, Trooper (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND PROJECTS FOR THE FIRST LADY)
10. $65,000 – Burnough, Erinn J. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY SOCIAL SECRETARY)
11. Reinstein, Joseph B. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY SOCIAL SECRETARY)
12. $62,000 – Goodman, Jennifer R. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF SCHEDULING AND EVENTS COORDINATOR FOR THE FIRST LADY)
13. $60,000 – Fitts, Alan O. (DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF ADVANCE AND TRIP DIRECTOR FOR THE FIRST LADY)
14. Lewis, Dana M. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT AND PERSONAL AIDE TO THE FIRST LADY)
15. $52,500 – Mustaphi, Semonti M. (ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY TO THE FIRST LADY)
16. $50,000 – Jarvis, Kristen E. (SPECIAL ASSISTANT FOR SCHEDULING AND TRAVELING AIDE TO THE FIRST LADY)
17. $45,000 – Lechtenberg, Tyler A. (ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE FIRST LADY)
18. Tubman, Samantha (DEPUTY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR,SOCIAL OFFICE)
19. $40,000 – Boswell, Joseph J. (EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE FIRST LADY)
20. $36,000 – Armbruster, Sally M. (STAFF ASSISTANT TO THE SOCIAL SECRETARY)
21. Bookey, Natalie (STAFF ASSISTANT)
22. Jackson, Deilia A. (DEPUTY ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF CORRESPONDENCE FOR THE FIRST LADY)

Now, all that is true. In fairness, though, let me just say that the author(s)/owner(s)/operators of the website on which it was originally posted – thelastcrusade.org – are far-right people with some very extreme ideas that I would, and do not, necessarily endorse.

I like the grassroots feeling of information sharing via email, but I can honestly say that most of the emails of this variety that I receive I promptly delete without reading. I think most people would agree with me that this is a type of spam not entirely unlike the “forward this to 50 people or you’ll be hit by a train in the next 48 hours” chain emails.

I think that netiquette dictates, or should, that an explicit – not implicit – understanding should be reached between two parties before these sorts of emails are exchanged. In other words, one party (sender) should ask the other (receiver) whether or not they want to receive spam from them. This not uncommon with businesses, and is entirely appropriate for the sort of impersonal emails that are routinely sent between friends and family members.

Back in the old “snail mail” days, nobody would’ve sent crap like this through the mail, because it’s not worth wasting a stamp on it. Back then, So-and-So would’ve called their friend and said, “Did you see item of interest?” This would’ve started a conversation. Now, because information costs are lower (i.e. free stamps for email), people seem to favor the less personal “Hey, check this out” email.

There is something to be said, though, for a litmus test of sorts when it comes to deciding whether or not to send (without asking) what might be considered spam to a friend or relative. It might be wise to ask yourself, “Would I spend the cost of a stamp to send this?” If the answer is no, reconsider sending that email! I’m not suggesting a moratorium on all chain emails or petitions or even spam. Every once-in-a-while, you get something interesting (like the article above). But, I’d say, that’s about 1/1,000.

So, next time you receive that political/religious/goofy chain email, and you’re thinking of passing it on, ask yourself, “Would I put a stamp on this and mail it?”

What is netiquette?   It is the appropriate behavior one should use while using the Internet.  With the Internet being so widely used with hardly any official guidelines, some are creating informal rules people should follow for common courtesy conduct on the Internet.  Since more and more companies and schools are relying on emails and texts for communications needs, netiquette is becoming a very important practice to carry out.  However, netiquette can vary from person to person, but generally good manners and common sense should prevail.

There are many books and websites that are being dedicated to proper netiquette.  Listed below is a sample of some general guidelines from Virginia Shea’s book on “Netiquette”:

• Rule 1: Remember the Human

• Rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life

• Rule 3: Know where you are in cyberspace

• Rule 4: Respect other people’s time and bandwidth

• Rule 5: Make yourself look good online

• Rule 6: Share expert knowledge

• Rule 7: Help keep flame wars under control

• Rule 8: Respect other people’s privacy

• Rule 9: Don’t abuse your power

• Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people’s mistakes

The Internet provides us with a quick and efficient means of communication.  However, when we use the Internet we lack the ability to truly interact with another individual.  We cannot see facial expressions, body language or hear the tone of how words are being said.  One can quickly take something out of context.  Because of the lack of interpersonal communication, netiquette is an extremely significant factor to practice while using the Internet.

Communication over the Internet should have the same guidelines as if you were talking to an individual face-to-face.  As in other aspects of life, there are rules that need to be followed.  The Internet is a global phenomenon with limitless potential.  The Internet, when used appropriately, can be an efficient tool for all to use whether for work, school or leisure.

netiquette_policy.html

Sources

www.albion.com/netiquette/

www.networketiquette.net

• Four new poems by Richard Parks in Snow Monkey. Love em. “Hey: what’s the Spanish for ‘ass curtain’?”
• I really picked the wrong night last night to drink four beers smoke 40 fags and eat a suiza, man, sheesh! Why? Well, today I have to be in 1980s businesswoman drag all day, for work—shoulder-pads, heels, thigh-cut dress, heavy makeup, heavy belt, colossal earrings, the whole bit——would much rather not be physically ill in this get-up. Composing memos of consequence to to the angels and devils of my conscience through a cheesecloth of queasy exhaustion. “Oh, well. I’ll survive.” [brappppp]