Today more and more of us discuss topics online. We’re video conferencing, contributing to discussion boards, or commenting on colleagues posts. It’s what we do.
Preparing for my classes I came across these 15 rules for online discussions. I decided to share them here because these rules are rock solid for life on the .net.
These come to us directly from the Online Education Department at Touro College. You can access the great infographic and original posting at 15 Rules of Netiquette for Online Discussion Boards [INFOGRAPHIC] http://blogs.onlineeducation.touro.edu/15-rules-netiquette-online-discussion-boards/.
15 Rules of Netiquette
- Before posting your question to a discussion board, check if anyone has asked it already and received a reply. Just as you wouldn’t repeat a topic of discussion right after it happened in real life, don’t do that in discussion boards either.
- Stay on topic – Don’t post irrelevant links, comments, thoughts, or pictures.
- Don’t type in ALL CAPS! If you do, it will look like you’re screaming.
- Don’t write anything that sounds angry or sarcastic, even as a joke, because without hearing your tone of voice, your peers might not realize you’re joking.
- Always remember to say “Please” and “Thank you” when soliciting help from your classmates.
- Respect the opinions of your classmates. If you feel the need to disagree, do so respectfully and acknowledge the valid points in your classmate’s argument. Acknowledge that others are entitled to have their own perspective on the issue.
- If you reply to a question from a classmate, make sure your answer is accurate! If you’re not 100% sure when the paper is due, DO NOT GUESS! Otherwise, you could really mess things up for your classmates and they will not appreciate it.
- If you ask a question and many people respond, summarize all answers and post that summary to benefit your whole class.
- Be brief. If you write a long dissertation in response to a simple question, it’s unlikely that anyone will spend the time to read through it all.
- Don’t badmouth others or call them stupid. You may disagree with their ideas, but don’t mock the person.
- If you refer to something your classmate said earlier in the discussion, quote just a few key lines from their post so that others wont have to go back and figure out which post you’re referring to.
- Before asking a question, check the class FAQs or search the internet to see if the answer is obvious or easy to find.
- Check the most recent comments before you reply to an older comment, since the issue might have already been resolved or opinions may have changed.
- Be forgiving. If your classmate makes a mistake, don’t badger him or her for it. Just let it go – it happens to the best of us.
- Run a spelling and grammar check before posting anything to the discussion board. It only takes a minute and can make the difference between sounding like a fool and sounding knowledgeable.
Rule of Thumb
If you wouldn’t do or say something in real life, don’t do it online either.
Thank you again to Touro College & University System for their insight to communicating better online.
This flows with my blog about how to communicate better at https://imentor4success.com/2018/06/19/how-to-communicate-better/.
Take care and enjoy. It is fast approaching.
Jan
