Netiquette can be defined as behaving appropriately on the net. Just like good manners are appreciated in real life, good manners on the net are appreciated too. Remember they might not be really big things. To get your netiquette right though you have to do get the little things right. Every drop is responsible for the existence of an ocean.
Here are some things to remember:
First while writing emails never ever use abusive words. Remember how they are disgusting in real life too.
Do not lower your prestige on the Net. This is espescially hard as certain recent developments on this site have shown.
Get a POP3 email account and write your mails offline.
This will mean that you are not in a rush while writing. Take all the precautions you take while writing a real life letter. Greet people.
Here is a specimen
Dear/Hi Vinay, How are you? I am fine. I mailed you coz…… ……. Bye for now, Saurabh.
Never ever write like this Vinay, if you have any new game, please send me the setup file in parts. This might make the opposite person think that you do not really think much highly of him.
I guess it is O.K when two people are like very close friends and there is an unsaid protocol between them. By protocol I mean an unsaid or never discussed set of rules that 2 people follow in conversation. You know when to get close and when to distance yourself. All mail clients have an inbuilt spell checker. Always spell check your mails. You will be amazed at how many mistakes you make. It need not be necessarily due to your lack of command over the language. Just the same old mistakes, accidently pressing ‘m’ instead of ‘n’ and all things like that. Please let them be for chatting on the net.
Do not write ‘y’ for Why, ‘r’ for are, ‘u’ for you, ‘t’ for you, ‘c’ for see and ‘b’ for be. Believe me some people get really get annoyed because of this. B there for T and C Y U R so loved by everyone. It takes a lot of effort to read that doesn’t it?
Never forward chain emails. I especially do not like it. By chain emails I mean the ones in which if you don’t forward something bad will happen. They bug you don’t they? Remember Christ when he said, Do not do unto others what you would not like to be done to you. If you do not forward it to 10 people then it will stop there itself.
Be sure to forward all jokes, funny or beautiful pictures to your friends. They love it. Do not forward non-veg jokes to a friend whose parents also check the same account. Ask them to make a new account for that. Keep your friends informed of all the new softwares or freewares available on the net.
P.S: I almost forgot while chatting please please avoid capital letters. They are so ugly and gross. I have only used them in reviews coz I feel lazy to make something bold. I use them to draw attention(or divert it). I quote a person who has written about this. He said when you are typing something on your PC do it as if you would speak to a friend.