Netiquette, or the social conventions of computer conferencing

The Open University's FirstClass computer conference service has been designed to be a support system for students and staff. It is a place where you can deepen your understanding of your courses through discussion, through learning of others' experiences and points of view, and through participation in various special events. It is a place where you can get and give help to other students, and also socialise and enjoy yourself. This is a new communication medium which will function most effectively as people learn how best to use it.

The principles of good communication in a computer conference are basically very similar to those in normal conversation and are largely common sense. But, because of the limitations of the medium (and with them the hazard of flaming), more care and attention is needed than in face-to-face discussion. The main principle is the intention to come to a shared understanding, which for me, means trying to understand other peoples views, rather than simply expressing myself, or worse, trying to impose my views on others.

I have based the following suggestions on my own experiences, and on a set of documents on the Internet found by searching on the word netiquette. From some research experiences (see Zimmer and Alexander) at the Open University I have extracted some of the key principles into what we may call Practical Communication Principles (PCPs).

PCP 1: Thank, acknowledge and support people freely

"I liked your comment in... " "I agree with so and sos idea that... " "Thanks Sarah for that contribution. I got a lot out of it." "Welcome to the conference, Bill."

In a computer conference you cannot see the other people nod their heads, smile, or otherwise indicate that they have heard what you said. If you don't receive an acknowledgement of a message, you may feel ignored, even when others have appreciated your contribution. This principle is particularly important when a group is set up as a support group, as it maintains the relationship necessary for people to feel supported. People know that they have been appreciated and are encouraged to contribute further.

A note of caution: if everyone in a conference acknowledged everyone elses messages, the conference would be clogged with messages saying 'Thanks!'. Before acknowledging, check that there arent already several similar messages.

PCP 2: Acknowledge before differing

"What I think you mean in essence is... Have I got that right? My own view differs as follows..."
If you disagree with someone, start by briefly re-stating what the other person has said in your own words. The person then knows that you are trying to understand them, and is thus in a better position to take your view seriously. Otherwise, you risk a sequence of statements flying across each other with little mutual understanding or possibility of coming to agreement (even if it is agreement to differ).

PCP 3: Speak from your own perspective (or at least some specified perspective)

"Here's how I see it/how I feel about it/what I want to do."

A commonly used abbreviation is IMHO, which means In My Humble Opinion, introduced for this purpose. Similarly, you can present other peoples views, with a direct quote and acknowledgement if possible. "As so and so said in XX..." "Official government views as given in... are..."

The most serious problems I have seen occur when people speak in the impersonal, "This is the way it is..." "It is a fact that..." If no perspective is given, a statement may seem dogmatic or moralistic. If something is put as an absolute, there is no room for anyone else's perspective.

You may find that for casual remarks, writing in the first person can seem awkward. Thus this Practical Communication Principle (as with the others) should not be applied too rigidly. It is most important when you are saying something which might appear controversial or contentious.

In addition to the PCPs, there are a number of principles of good practice that have grown up in the computer conferencing community. Here are those I consider particularly useful:

Avoid 'flaming spirals'

Sometimes someone will take offense at someone else's message, where no offense was intended, and reply angrily. The first person may then respond angrily again and so on, leading to an ever-increasing spiral of abuse. Without the usual cues of body language and facial expression, this can happen more easily in computer conferences than in face-to-face conversation. At times, this can seriously disrupt a conference.

The best solutions are for the people involved to affirm that they had not intended to offend and to show that they understand the other's point of view. (As in PCP 2.)

In extreme cases, people who persist in offensive or disruptive behaviour may lose access to some or all FirstClass conferences.

On emotions in messages:

Emotions can easily be misunderstood when you can't see faces or body language. People may not realise you are joking, being satirical or sarcastic. There are conventions for saying 'this is a joke' or expressing your feelings which you may wish to use. They are called smileys or emoticons (look at them sideways): 8-) 8-( :-) :-( ;-)

IF YOU WRITE IN CAPITAL LETTERS IT WILL COME OVER AS SHOUTING! Before sending an angry message, stop and take a break, then consider whether a milder tone wouldn't be better.

Quoting other messages when replying to them:

On the Internet there is a convention of quoting a few lines of someone's message before commenting on it. You will often see this indicated by the > symbol at the beginning of each quoted line. On FirstClass you will see this too, and there is a growing convention of using italics to indicate quotations (but at the time I write this, only FirstClass users with Apple Macs and not PCs can do this).

Where to write what:

Messages can be addressed to one or more individuals or to a conference (or to a combination of individuals and conferences).

If your reply to a conference message is meant for one person only (and is not of wider interest) send it as e-mail to that person only, rather than as a conference reply where everyone will see it. Within a conference it can be very annoying to have to wade through lots of little bits of private chat which hide the business of the conference. Before you send a message, check that it is addressed to the most appropriate place.

When you are first learning to use FirstClass, put your test messages in the right place. It is very annoying to see messages like "Hi, I'm learning to use this system! This is my first message." in the middle of a working conference. There is a special conference called the Practice Conference which is meant for that purpose.

Keep to the subject of the conference. There is an on-line 'Common Room' for chat and general conversations.

Avoid multiple answers to a message. Before sending a helpful reply to someones question, check to be sure that someone else hasn't already said the same thing.

General style:

Keep messages short. Write concisely and try to avoid messages longer than one or two screensfull. That helps people follow the flow of the discussion. If you have something longer to say, put it in a file which you create with your word processor and then attach it to a short message describing it.

All messages have a subject line, indicating the contents of the message. People see this before they see the contents of your message and may use it to decide whether or not to read your message. Take the subject line seriously and make sure it is clear.

Please, no advertising. This is an academic network, not the place to conduct your business.

Legal issues:

If you copy something published in a book or magazine and put it on-line you are probably violating someones copyright. When the OU puts published material on-line it first gets copyright clearance and usually pays a fee. (However very short quotations are allowed.) Software should not be posted on FirstClass unless it is clearly designated for free distribution.

If you are copying something written by someone else, put it in quotation marks and give them credit. E-mail is generally considered private and should not be quoted without permission.

A conference is a public place, so be careful what you say to people. Although people are usually very tolerant (and I suggest that you are too), there are rare cases when someone sues for libel when they have been offended. Be especially careful about remarks which might offend minority groups or which might be considered obscene. Such comments have no place on an Electronic Campus, where the ethos is support and collaboration.

Reference:

Bob Zimmer and Gary Alexander, "The Rogerian Interface: For open, warm empathy in computer mediated collaborative learning", Innovations in Education and Training International , 33, 1 (1996), pp. 13-21, Kogan Page.