Online communities can be a great place to share information and make new friends. But, like all other areas of internet subculture, there are unwritten rules that make their usage more enjoyable and beneficial for everyone, and others that will keep you safe. WWW Means WORLD WIDE WEB Message boards and other online communities (like here at families.com) often feel like safe, self contained communities of friends you know. Forget that thought. A public message board is available to anyone. They are archived by search engines and external sites like the Wayback Machine making them available long after the original … Continue reading →

These days, everyone is wired. Unfortunately, just because Great Aunt Mary learned how to send email and surf the web, doesn’t mean she picked up the basics of netiquette along the way. What’s netiquette, you ask? Netiquette is the unofficial rules defining proper behavior on the internet–whether sending mail, posting in online communities and message boards, or chatting. For the purpose of this blog, we’ll tackle the basics of email etiquette. We’ll cover more tomorrow. TYPING IN ALL CAPS IS CONSIDERED SHOUTING Most people don’t appreciate being shouted at. Always use lower case unless you’re trying to show emphasis. Forwards … Continue reading →