A LITTLE “NETIQUETTE” NEVER GOES OUT

We remind you that the term netiquette derives from the set of two words, one of English origin “network” and the other of French origin “étiquette”, whose union usually defines a series of rules of good behavior for writing messages and emails on the Internet .

In this short text, we present a synthetic handbook that should be the cultural background of those who work on the internet or venture online to write and / or exchange messages. These rules have been explained in a pleasant work done and recently published by Tophost (*).

# 1 WRITE CORRECTLY: The first rule is always the golden one, therefore the Internet user must commit himself to writing following correct rules of syntax, grammar and punctuation of the chosen language, also having a particular eye on the contents and not only on the form of his own writing.

# 2 WRITE IN CAPITAL LETTERS, ONLY IF NEEDED: Remember that capital letters on the web could not only highlight a topic or title, but in online conversations it is equivalent to shouting or at least raising the tone of the conversation. We therefore recommend careful and appropriate use of capital letters.

# 3 READ CAREFULLY, BEFORE INTERVENING: Better to avoid interventions that are off topic or with the wrong tone. In other words, if you want to participate in a discussion, you need to bring added value, expressing it in a synthetic and coherent way with the tones and topics of the conversation.

# 4 CALIBRATE THE TONE: The tone of the conversation is an integral part of the conversation itself. One thing is a chat between friends and another is a business chat with your managers or with the managers of any customers. Let’s remember that every occasion provides a form of conversation suited to the situation.

# 5 RESPECT FOR PRIVACY: When we approach the net, privacy must always be at the first place in our thoughts. If we do not know exactly the purpose of data collection, we never disclose our personal data and we never publish the data of others, without their prior consent. Furthermore, always remember that it is a crime to share photos and videos of people without their direct consent.

# 6 MENTION THE SOURCES: We remind you that many intellectual works (texts, images, videos, …) are protected by Copyright and it is therefore necessary to take them into account before their possible reuse. If you intend to publish texts, images, videos or researches extrapolated from the internet, it is good practice to quote at least the source and, if known, the legitimate author.

# 7 BE EDUCATED: Good manners also apply to the internet, therefore, in case of disagreement, the interlocutors should not be offended, posts or offensive or discriminatory comments are not published, vulgar or racist tones are not used towards anyone (in other words : No rudeness and digital bullying!).

# 8 AVOID DISCOUNTED QUESTIONS: To participate in a conversation in a constructive and profitable way for everyone, it is necessary to inquire about the topics already covered and if there are other topics, of any interest to us, that could obtain valid and complete answers in that context.

# 9 OPTIMIZE NETWORK TRAFFIC: Some activities, which involve the exchange of large amounts of data (e.g. transfer of archives, mailing operations with large attachments, backups or online copies of entire devices), weigh down the network traffic. We have recently realized that these activities also significantly affect the environment. Therefore we use these features sparingly, perhaps reducing these activities and scheduling them outside the hours of maximum digital traffic.

# 10 DON’T VIOLATE SECURITY: You should never try to break into other people’s devices without having permission. If this is done randomly and unexpectedly, it is necessary to immediately notify the managers of the device that may be violated, so that they can take adequate IT security measures to avoid possible further inappropriate intrusions.

To conclude, it would be advisable for everyone to be able to use these simple basic rules in our daily digital presence on social networks and in our various internet activities, also acting as spokespersons for those who may not know them and zealous controllers of those who do not want to respect them.

(*) Netiquette – Regole e consigli di Galateo online (EBOOK EDIZIONI TOPHOST)

ACTION ICT (May 2022)

ACTION ICT is a young, dynamic and innovative IT company. It operates, both nationally and internationally, offering professional skills and design solutions in the ICT field to medium and large businesses. Our highly skilled know-how is housed in three expertise specific departments: ACTION DATA (Big Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence), ACTION APP (Web & Mobile Application) and ACTION IOT (Internet of Things and Robotics).