Golden Rules

We're all different. Celebrate the fact that there are millions of people online from all over the world and don't expect anyone to share your culture, feelings, philosophy, background, knowledge etc.

Be careful asking people about themselves. Questions about age, sex, sexual preference, marital status, income, religious beliefs etc is taboo in many cultures.

You are using a computer, not talking to one. At the other end is a real live person with feelings. Be nice.

Many people online are communicating in a language that is not their mother tongue. Be polite, expect misunderstandings and take time to communicate properly.

You'll find all sorts of people online. Don't give out private information like your address, place of work or school or worship, telephone number etc without careful consideration. You don't know who you're talking to: it may be the local priest or the local psychopath.

You'll find all sorts of information online. Evaluate everything you read!

Don't waste other people's time by bringing up inappropriate subjects. There's a time and place for everyone and everything online. Find out where that is and don't waste bandwidth with inappropriate postings, remarks or email.

Be honest. If you are promoting a product or site you have a personal interest in, say so. Stick to accepted forums to promote your interests.

Keep our internet space clean! Don't engage in damaging behaviours such as email bombing, fraud, virus building etc.

Type in sentence case, and avoid putting words in upper case. If you type "Hello" in an email or chatroom, you are being polite. Type "HELLO" and you're shouting.

Curious to find out more? Click on these images for books by Maria O'Daniel: Information Technology Without The Technical Jargon!

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