Netiquette / Code of Conduct for Participants/Readers
1. Think of your comments as printed in a newspaper. Your online comments can and are saved, so they can be remembered long after you have made them. This isn’t meant to discourage you from making online comments – just a reminder to review and reflect carefully on what you write, especially in responses to others, before you actually post. Always be professional and respectful to others.
2. Do not get emotional.It is fine to express emotion. It is great to be passionate. But when your emotion overtakes you, take a step outside, take some deep breaths, and then return to your computer before firing off a response. Or you can write your response as a draft and save it. Come back later or the next day and reread it and decide whether you want to send it.
3. Avoid negativity.You can disagree. You should disagree. You can challenge and dissent about ideas and the course content. But avoid becoming negative online. It will impact you negatively, hinder the class discussion, and may give the wrong impression of you to others.
4. No flaming, all caps, !!!, ???In the online world, all caps can mean you are yelling. It comes off aggressive rather than passionate.
5. Comments should be polite, understated, and use polite language.Online we are very sensitive. We do not have tone of voice or body language to moderate what we are saying.
6. Don’t disrupt.If there is a dialogue or train of thought going on, join in. Participate, add to it. But if you have something entirely different to bring up, wait or post it in another area. Online dialogue is like conversation.
7. Participate, don’t just “listen in.”In this class, a significant portion of your grade is based on your online participation. It can be scary at first – putting your thoughts out there in print. It gets easier, and everyone is required to do so.
8. Private Communication.If you feel uncomfortable with a certain topic or post or want to discuss something privately with the instructor, you can set your responses so that they are private and will not be disclosed to other participants. Your privacy is important and should be respected at all times!
