Net Etiquette

The Internet (or 'Net, or Net) is a network formed of many different smaller networks of computers. However, to see it only as a set of computers is misleading, because most of those computers are being used by human beings. Knowing how to interact with a computer is an important skill, but knowing how to interact with other people who are using computers requires some additional considerations.

The Internet can be divided, roughly speaking, into several different protocols, or agreed-upon means of exchanging information. These protocols include SMTP (electronic mail transfer), HTTP (hypertext transfer, for web pages), IRC (Internet Relay Chat), NNTP (network news transfer), and so on. Computers use these protocols to exchange information with each other -- but they do so at the behest of their human operators.

As humans, we select software which allows us to communicate with other humans (or computers) in whatever fashion we find most convenient. The software gives us an interface -- a "way in" -- to what we often perceive as a location. We speak of "web forums", for example, as places where people can "go" to "talk" with each other. Likewise, we have "news groups", "mailing lists", "chat rooms", etc. Once we have mastered the basic features of the software, we see all these things as places where there are other people, to whom we can talk. We use vocabulary which mimics our corporal experience -- "go", "talk", "say" -- even when we aren't actually moving around or using our voices.

Just as people in the "real world" interact with each other in different ways, there are similar interactions in "cyberspace". People agree, disagree, argue, like each other, dislike each other, form friendships, compete, help, hinder, insult, titillate, etc. And because people can "meet" in virtual spaces more easily than they can in the real world (there's no need to get on a jet and fly to Singapore to "meet" with your Singaporean friend), these social interactions can happen extremely quickly.

Group dynamics are also extremely important. "Places" where people "meet" together frequently often develop group characteristics which are unique to those spaces. An AOL chat room has a very different atmosphere than a Linux web forum, which in turn is very different from a mailing list about cheeses. Yet, there will be many aspects in common. This page attempts to describe some of the common characteristics of virtual communities, their rules (written or unwritten), and a rough suggestion of ways people can interact with each other more productively.