The Netcenter's

Manners and the Internet

The Internet is an enormous social meeting place. With regards to e-mail and usernet postings, there are some informal rules of conduct. These rules are called netiquette.

E-mail

Send only what you need to send. Be brief.
Include a short but descriptive subject.
Only mail information to people who need it. Don't include additional recipients just because it is easy to do so.
Reread your letter before you send it. Often hastily written letters convey the wrong impression and may imply anger when none is intended.
Speaking of anger, don't use ALL CAPS to emphasis a word or phrase. All caps it the net equivalent to yelling.
When replying to a message, don't include the entire body of the first letter unless your really need to.

Usenet News

Try posting to a test news group before you post your first serious posting.
Check out a news group's FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) before posting to the group. A short posting asking where to get a copy of the FAQ is ok.
Watch the group's postings for a of couple days before posting. Conform to whatever standards seem to be the norm.
Include a short but descriptive subject.
Include your e-mail address in your posting. In most cases, you should encourage people to reply to your e-mail address rather than the group.
Identify yourself as a new Internet user or new member of a news group in your first posting.
Don't get caught in personality clashes (called flame wars).
Usenet is not an avenue for advertising or self promotion.
Refrain from posting news articles unless they apply to the focus of the group and contribute to your work or to the Internet community.
For personal correspondence, use electronic mail rather than Usenet.