Cyberspace Etiquette
All societies have rules and standards of conduct. Without these, there is bedlam. The internet is no exception. Following is a list of "conventions" (I won't call them "rules", since no one "owns" the internet) that, if followed, will keep you in good standing with all other internet users.
Do not forward "factual" messages that you have not verified. It's similar
to spreading a rumor. If you can't verify it as being true, don't forward
it. This is a trap many new internet users fall into... Blacks are NOT in
risk of losing their right to vote as a result of the expiration of the
Voting Rights Act; the Cancer Society is NOT going to donate money based
on a letter you forward; Neiman Marcus and Mrs. Fields did NOT sell their
cookie recipes for $200; there is no child who's trying to break a record
by getting get-well notes from millions of people; and you CANNOT get a
virus from reading an email message - no matter WHAT its topic is (you can
only get a virus from an EXECUTABLE file - .exe, .com, .vbs, .pif, or .bat
- and sometimes from .doc). There are many others - too many to mention
here - but they all have the same non-truths. A good source to check is Snopes.com
- they can verify - or debunk - almost any "factual email" you've
received. Don't create a mailing
list and start sending unsolicited mail to people. If you want to start
a mailing list, ask people if they want to be on your list PRIOR to just
sending them countless messages... remember - what's important to you might
not be important to them.... so it becomes their "junk mail". Make sure that your
"Reply-To" address is correct prior to sending an email. If you're using
an internet system where you have to logon, make sure that you're using
your own account prior to sending email.... if you don't and the person
you wrote to tries to reply, your reply goes to the person whose account
you were using at the time. Also, be sure to logoff when you're finished
so no one else uses YOUR email account. Don't send an attachment
to your email file, such as a picture or a program unless you've asked whether
the recipient wants it... and then be sure the recipient knows how large
the file is... Nobody wants to wait forever for an email attachment to download
if they didn't want or ask for the file in the first place. An attached
executable file might also contain a virus. When you reply to a
message, include portions (or all) of the message you are replying to so
that the recipient can recall what you are responding to. If you MUST forward
a message to someone, delete the 2000+ names of the other people it's been
forwarded to. Otherwise, it's just a chain letter - and I don't read chain
letters. If you want to send
the same letter to lots of people, use the BCC: (blind copy) feature of
your email so that each person receives the mail addressed to THEM only,
without seeing every Tom, Dick, and Harry you sent it to. If you believe that
Bill Gates is gonna give you a free copy of Windows and some cash - or
that Walt Disney Jr. (Disney, Sr. didn't have any SONS!) will give you a
free trip to The Magic Kingdom and some cash - all based on you sending
a chain letter... that's fine.... just DON'T SEND ME COPIES OF
STUPID CHAIN LETTERS
OR INCLUDE ME IN MASS MAILINGS
I will cancel the membership of anyone
found to be using the email directory to send mass emails, solicitations,
or chain letters.
