Netiquette

Netiquette is an important topic and one not to be overlooked in any discussion about online learning. Yourdictionary.com defines etiquette as "the...manners...established by convention as acceptable or required…in a profession, or in official life.” With the advent of the Internet and Web, those norms need to function appropriately in the world of online communication; by extension, “netiquette” was born. If learners in your online classroom are new to online learning, a discussion about netiquette early in the course is very beneficial. It gets the group communicating with one another and establishes ground rules for participation and expectations.

It’s a person—not just text on the screen. Online communications are "faceless" in the sense that those communicating can't see body language or hear voice tones. All we can do is read the words on the screen, and each of us instinctively assigns meaning to those words based on our culture, ethnicity, emotions, and backgrounds—and how our day is going. Often, the meaning we assign is not the meaning intended by the writer. As you write, or read, online remember: There is a person on the other end of the communication—often many people, each with his or her personal interpretation.

• "Talking Points"

  • Don't write things you wouldn't say face-to-face.
  • Remember that each reader is a human whose culture, ethnicity, language, and background include different points of reference from your own.
  • Use sarcasm rarely, only after due deliberation, and only with a reader who knows you well and who you know well. It is easily misinterpreted; don't use it in communication with groups—the more people, the more opportunities for misinterpretation.
  • Include a courteous greeting and closing in each message. You don't generally walk into a room and start talking without a "hi" or "hello" then leave abruptly when you've said your last sentence without a graceful conclusion; don't do so in online conversation either.
  • Don't use acronyms and abbreviations unless they are common to the class, have been previously explained and defined, and are understood by other participants; it’s rude to speak a "foreign language" when others in the group can't understand and participate.
  • Understand that we may disagree and that exposure to other people's opinions is part of the learning experience when done courteously and respectfully.

An online course is still a course. In our daily lives, most of us use email, instant messaging, chats, and social networks in casual conversation. Many of these same or similar tools are used in online learning; however, there the similarities stop. A web-based classroom is still a classroom and professionalism is the code of conduct.

• "Talking Points"

  • Faculty should be addressed with his or her title until expectations make it clear that's OK to do otherwise; he or she earned it.
  • All participants should be treated with equality and with respect, regardless of position or role in the course.
  • Comments that would be inappropriate in a face-to-face classroom are inappropriate in an online course as well.
  • Casual "hallway" conversations should be restricted to the location in the course designated for those types of conversations, not interspersed with assigned communication.
  • Don't re-send communication with minor corrections just because you made a typo or a grammatical error unless it changed the meaning. Readers will understand; we're all human and make errors.
  • Don't correct others' typographical or grammatical errors publicly. You wouldn't (shouldn't) point out those errors in an open classroom discussion.
  • You will be judged by the quality of your writing so spelling and grammar do count. Although most online classrooms use more informal language and relaxed rules of grammar in general online communication and forum postings, professionalism still matters. Correct writing also makes your communication easier to read.

People have lives, varied schedules, and live in different time zones. One of the beauties of most online learning is that it's asynchronous, which means that people can participate at times that are most beneficial to them and not be required to be online at the same time. Some online learning participants are geographically dispersed. Unfortunately, some participants in online classes tend to assume that because they're working in the class, everyone else also is working in the class at the same time.

• "Talking Points"

  • Give recipients time to respond: people with whom you communicate have geographically and activity-diverse lives; the person receiving your message might be asleep or busy when your message arrives.
  • Don't expect others to be online 24 hours a day.
  • Don't send messages asking if prior messages were received unless a considerable period of time has elapsed. That just clutters up the course. If it's urgent, use the phone to check.
  • Faculty have personal lives beyond teaching your course and are not "on call" every day all day and night. Respect their stated office hours and requests for contact channels.

Respect privacy. Respecting privacy can take several different forms. The first is personal privacy. Personal privacy concerns what participants choose to share about themselves to those who are in the same learning environment. We've previously discussed issues about the increasing slant toward greater disclosure as well as issues surrounding learning situations that ask participants to share intimate information (see Boundaries).

The flip side of personal privacy is the ease of sharing others' personal information. It's very easy to share information learned in an online course with others without intending any ill-will. We each have to be on guard about inappropriate sharing.

For those of us healthcare settings, inappropriate sharing also can easily lead to HIPAA violations. As we discuss situations from our professional lives in an online course, it is easy to slip across the line and share patient information that should have been omitted or masked to protect privacy.

• "Talking Points"

  • Respect the privacy of  course peers and what is shared in class. What is "said" in class, stays in class.
  • Never share confidential or private information, such as credit cardnumbers, passwords, and student ID numbers, ever.
  • Be cautious in sharing personal information such as home address and phone numbers, children's information, and other elements of your private lives. Most of the time there is no harm done, but it is better to err  on the side of caution when there is any doubt.
  • Discuss confidential topics such as patient information or specifics about employers or business situations in class discussions as requested by your instructor among the class group—but not with family, colleagues, and others who are not in your assigned group or class. Remember, professionalism and privacy are top considerations. Do not share information that you have agreed to keep confidential; mask the information sufficiently to protect privacy.
  • Select message recipient names carefully. A simple mis-click can send information to a person(s) you didn’t intend, inadvertently sharing private information.

The online world is an open book. Electronic communication is easy to share, and that's one of the nice things about online learning and electronic communication; it's also one of the not-so-good things. Several rules of netiquette govern sharing electronic communication and are important for you to keep in mind.

• "Talking Points"

  • Be cautious about what is put in electronic communication—anything that can be seen on the screen may be copied, pasted, altered, and/or re-distributed.
  • Remember that even deleted items are stored on a server somewhere and anything stored on a server is subject to retrieval under certain legal circumstances.
  • Always ask permission before re-posting or forwarding communication that was sent to you. Respect the response you get if your request is denied.
  • Be judicious about what you share online and what you ask of your learners. Conversations about propriety and circumspection could be useful.

Rudeness is rude, and inappropriate is inappropriate—no matter what. The "faceless" nature of online communication has been shown to reduce inhibitions and increase disclosure. The result often is rudeness, use of inappropriate language, the intimate sharing of too much information, and the crossing of boundaries that would never be crossed in a face-to-face classroom.  People have different levels of comfort with assertiveness, bluntness, and openess; what one individual perceives as assertiveness can easily be perceived by another as rudeness. When that line is neared, being in a primarily text-based environment without benefit of voice and body characteristics has a tendency to push the situation over that line. It's better to err on the side of caution.

• "Talking Points"

  • Don’t overshare. In other words, consider the fact that you are co-learners and professionals. Over time, friendships grow, but continue to monitor what you share with others remembering that the written word lives on long after class ends and circumstances change.
  • Point out mistakes politely and privately.
  • Remember the adage "don't sweat the small stuff."
  • Don't send heated messages (we call these "flames") even if you feel provoked or justified.
  • Don't fuel flames by responding to a heated message; just let it die.
  • Read, wait, then re-read before sending emotionally charged messages or messages that may be misconstrued. When in doubt; use the phone or visit the person.
  • Privately received inappropriate communication should be reported appropriately. Faculty should tell students to contact them immediately if something like this occurs. Faculty should be in contact with department chairs, deans, supervisors, etc. Inappropriate communication that goes beyond lines of decency into meanness may need help in dealing with it.

Make it clear. The reason we communicate is to be understood. The more diverse the participants in an online course, the more opportunities there are to have communication be misunderstood. In online, text-based communication, sometimes it's the simplest things that cause confusion.

• "Talking Points"

  • Remember that date formats, measurements, and idioms may not "travel well." Write in such a manner that your meaning is clear to all who read your message.
  • Be careful using slang, local acronyms, and jargon.
  • Include a subject heading that reflects the content of the message.
  • If you have several points to make, post/send individual messages, rather than a single, lengthy, all-encompassing message. It will make it easier for readers to "get" your point and will make resulting replies easier to focus.
  • When participating in a video-conferencing course, enunciate clearly, speak a little more slowly, make eye contact with the camera not the screen.

A language all its own. Online communication quickly developed its own style when it came into being in the late 1980s and has continued to evolve. Emoticons (emoticons, or "smileys") were first created to allow writers to inject personality into a message beyond the written word and to denote when a statement was made in jest or fun or to express sadness or discontent. They were created by using the symbol keys on
the keyboard and were read by "reading sideways." For example: :-) smiling face; ;-) winking face; and :-( sad or upset face. Nearly all systems have now evolved into using graphical icons that can be inserted.

Texting perfected a form of "shorthand" in electronic communication by (primarily) leaving vowels out of words or abbreviating. For example: BRB (be right back), JK (just kidding), BTW (by the way), LOL (laughing out loud), and F2F (face to face).

• "Talking Points"

  • Use emoticons to indicate tone of voice, but use them sparingly.
  • Follow the guidelines of the course when deciding to use emoticons or abbreviations.
  • Don't assume that the inclusion of a smiley will make the recipient happy with what you say or wipe out an otherwise insulting, rude, or inappropriate comment.
  • Even though they shorten messages or because you're used to "texting," use common abbreviations sparingly and only if you know your audience knows what they mean—and never in formal written communications

Composing messages and posts. Communication is the cornerstone of learning—online or otherwise. The difference between an online course and a face-to-face one though is that participants have the benefit of hearing tones of voice, watching body language, and providing clarifying remarks. Even in synchronous video-conferencing, participants are somewhat hampered by clarity of transmission and the inability to sometimes easily interrupt to ask for clarification. So whether you are teaching or taking an online course, considerating how your messages are being received and adjusting words so that your meaning is clear is a critical skill.

• "Talking Points"

  • WRITING A MESSAGE IN ALL UPPER CASE APPEARS AS THOUGH YOU'RE SHOUTING AND IS CONSIDERED RUDE (BESIDES BEING HARDER TO READ).
  • writing in all lower-case letters is hard to read.
  • Use regular mixed-case to compose your messages.
  • Do not "Reply to All" unless it's a message that everyone needs to know.
  • Keep conversations focused on the topic and among those who need to be involved in that specific conversation.
  • Be careful when addressing messages. Many email applications "auto-fill" names with those you have previously corresponded. Some message systems allow you to click on recipient names and you may select a name "one-off" from that which you intended to click. Many names and email addresses are similar and it's easy to choose the incorrect one.
  • Don't use a received message to start a new conversation; take the time to address a new message with an appropriate subject line.
  • If you think the importance of a message justifies it, immediately reply briefly to an e-mail message to let the sender know you got it, even if you will send a longer reply later.
  • Thread discussion postings appropriately (start new topics when necessary, and reply to previous postings as appropriate).
  • Review all postings in a forum before posting your own to prevent redundancy.
  • Unless otherwise instructed, such as for an assignment submission, or when communication is of a personal nature, post all discussions to the discussion forums rather than send messages through course mail or private e-mail. This helps all participants learn from one another and helps generate professional discourse.
  • Provide substantive feedback, reflections, comments, or questions; avoid posting trivial comments such as "I agree" or "nice."
  • Be concise when contributing to a discussion. Online courses require a lot of reading, and your points might be missed if hidden in a lot of text.

Staying safe. Although not strictly netiquette, online safety is critical in this age of information overload, phishing, spoofing, and spamming. Even the language has evolved to accomodate these topics as you can see from the previous sentence. Because most online learning occurs within an institutional password-protected environment and access is restricted to enrolled or registered participants, these topics are not as prevalent as they are with "open" systems such as Outlook, Gmail and other "regular" email systems. Still, if you are participating online, I think the topic is important enough that it warrants some attention.

• "Talking Points"

  • Phishing is an attempt to gather sensitive or private information by masquerading as a legitimate source; NEVER respond to an email message or phone call requesting information such as passwords, PINs, account numbers, or home addresses. These contacts may look and sound legitimate, but systems folks already have access to that information about your accounts; they don't have to ask. If you receive an email request, do not respond or click on any links; immediately contact your IT support team for advice. If you receive a phone call, if you have caller ID, note the number then hang-up; do not engage the caller; report the incident to your security offices.
  • If you receive a message that doesn't "seem right" even if it appears to come from someone you know, don't reply to it. Start a new message or use the phone to ask the person if they sent you the message.
  • Don't forward all "hard luck" pleas or warning messages to everyone in your address list; most are totally or partially scams. Check a reliable site like snopes.com for accuracy and currency.
  • Spam is electronic junk mail. Do not respond to spam mail; doing so simply verifies to the sender that a legitimate email has been reached. Learn to use rules in your email. You can have messages from specific senders or containing specific keywords directly to your junk folder or deleted items folder so that you don't have to dealing with them all the time. Be aware though that this is an ongoing trial. These troublemakers have more time and energy than do we honest folks.
  • Install and maintain anti-virus software such as McAfee or Symantec and anti-malware software such as Malwarebytes
  • Use robust passwords.
  • Change your passwords on a regular schedule.
  • Don't use the same password for every service.
  • Don't write your passwords down and leave them on your desk or in an unencrypted file stored on your computer.

Our final topic for discussion is about assessing learning. Ready to dive in?