Question

Why is it important to understand and follow netiquette? Can you describe an encounter you've experienced where netiquette was not followed? What are some tips you can give, other than the ones included in the reading, that are best practices for online citizenship or netiquette?

Answer 1

Netiquette is the set of rules for proper behavior and politeness that people unofficially follow while communicating on online and digital platforms like Email or chat-rooms. It is important to follow certain guidelines when interacting in the digital space because with the passage of time more and more business discussions and deals are moving to this online space. It is the first and only representative of the individual in the digital space. People start associating humans with the kind of etiquettes they follow in the emails, chats or discussion boards. Any improper comment or talk can create a wrong impression and can break a deal with any prospective business partners. The movement to the digital space is primarily because it saves time and is convenient to connect individuals miles apart in the real world.

A personal experience when netiquettes went for a toss was during an important deal being struck with one of our key suppliers or vendors for furniture items for one of our clients. The subject line of the email was totally incomprehensible and did not reflect the content and intent of the email. The vendor wanted to increase the price of an item finalized for the client because of spike in raw material price at his end. However, the mail subject had just two words ‘Price increase’ with neither any mention of the order he was referring to nor any reference to the items in discussion. Additionally, the salutation had no greeting and had my name written on top that too with a spelling error. The mail body had all text stuffed together with no paragraph breaks and with content going way beyond the topic at hand. Sadly enough, the mail totally lacked courtesy with no proper closing line or request to consider the sudden change brought about at their end with no fault of ours.

Some basic tips that we can look for netiquettes, could be as follows:

-       Address the human at the other end of the screen: Since there is no face to face interaction, it is easy to sound rude or be misunderstood by the words typed in the space. Always keep in mind that you are interacting with a sane individual at the other end.

-       Ethical behavior as in real life: Cyberspace is governed by the same ethical standards that governs our society at large.

-       Respect other people: The internet is very much an open forum, hence the information shared there can easily get one in trouble both at a professional and personal level. Hence, maintain the dignity and respect while conversing online.

-       Do not misuse a position of power: Internet has all the experts, administrators and even hackers. This is where the power should be used sensibly and not used to cause harm to others who have lesser power.

-       Share Knowledge and Wisdom: Since it is open platform, utilize this opportunity to share your experience and knowledge earned over the years in a polite and respectful manner. This would also in return, help you gain respect of others.