Netiquette? In simple language, it can be defined as network etiquette (that is, the etiquette of cyber-space). In other words, Netiquette is a set of rules for behaving properly online.
When you enter any new culture (cyber-space has its own culture), you’re liable to commit a few social blunders. You might offend people without meaning to or you might misunderstand what others say and take offense when it’s not intended. To make matters worse, something about cyber-space makes it easy to forget that you’re interacting with other real live people.
Here are some basic principles to use in solving your own Netiquette dilemmas.
Subject lines: Always include a subject line in your message. Almost all mailers present you with the subject line when you browse your mailbox, and it’s often the only clue the recipient has about the contents when filing and searching for messages. Make the subject line meaningful.
Keep the message to the point: Messages should be concise and to the point. It is important to remember that some people receive hundreds of e-mail messages a day, so the last thing they want to see is a message from someone who thinks he/she is the Shakespeare in making.
Avoid upper case: Use of upper-case words is the equivalent of shouting in some one’s ear. This is one of the rudest things you can do.
Avoid too many Punctuation!!!: You must have seen lots of e-mail messages where people put a dozen exclamation points at the end of a sentence for added emphasis. Big deal--anything important should be reflected in your text, not in your punctuation.
Abbreviations: Abbreviation usage is quite rampant with e-mail. In the quest to save keystrokes, users have traded clarity for confusion (unless you understand the abbreviations). It is ok if you use these with close friends, but not in a formal or work related e-mail. Then it is a major put off. There are some common abbreviations, I would recommend that you use such as FYI and BTW. Beyond that, you run the risk of confusing your recipient.
Large Attachments: Don’t send large attachments without checking with the recipient first.
Quotes: Try to quote from the original message where relevant. You can break the quoted message down into paragraphs and comment on them individually to make it clearer.
Courtesy: E-mail is all about communication with other people, and as usual, some basic courtesy never goes amiss. If you’re asking for something, don’t forget to use please. Similarly, if someone does something for you, it never hurts to say thank you. While this might sound trivial, or even insulting, it’s astonishing, many people who are perfectly polite in everyday life seem to forget their manners in their e-mail.
Smilies: We all know how important facial expressions and body gestures are to a conversation. Since there are no visual or auditory cues with e-mail, users have come up with something called smilies or smiley. They are simple strings of characters used in the e-mail text to convey the writer’s emotions. The most common example is :-). Turn your head to the left and you should see a happy face (the colon are the eyes, the dash is the nose and the parentheses is the mouth).
They are typically used at the end of sentences and usually refer back to the prior statement. Use them abunduntly as you write to your friends and new and dear ones. You can even use these once in a while when you write formal/business mails to people who you know well. Other wise avoid it! :-) Smile, :-( Sad, ;-) Wink, :-| Indifference, 8-) Eye-glasses, :-/ Perplexed, :-( Frown (anger or displeasure), :-P Wry smile, ;-} Leer
Personal Remarks: Last but not the least, always remember that there is no such thing as a secure mail system. It is very foolish to send very personal or sensitive information by e-mail. Remember, you are not the only person who could be embarrassed if a delicate message falls into the wrong hands.