Written by HammaH (samuels@psych.stanford.edu)

Greetings and salutations. The following is a combined effort of myself and those on the Phish Net during the summer of '92 regarding netiquette and issues you might want to think about before you post.

Before starting, I should point out that nobody, repeat NOBODY, can tell you what and how to post (unless someone, like an employer, is paying for your account). This being America (and USENET), you can pretty much do what you want (within reason, which I'm not going to discuss). Yet because of that fact, you yourself must be self-policing. If everybody did what they wanted, the group would get way out of control and become almost useless due to the sheer number of irrelevant posts (e.g. Dead-net).

So here are a few thoughts and ideas that I use as heuristics:

1) While criticism is important, flaming is almost always useless.

Criticizing someone can be useful. It lets someone know that you believe what they did/said is inappropriate, and can foster intellectual debate. If you post something debatable or highly opinionated, expect some replies which disagree with your position. Constructive criticism includes what you find inappropriate and why. It contains NO direct attack on personality, personal hygiene, or biological background (i.e. flaming). Flaming someone publicly on the net is always a useless waste of time. Which leads to number 2....

2) Never post when a direct email will suffice!

Probably the most important rule for ALL posting, and certainly for flaming. Ask yourself if the reply is interesting to the net as a whole, or simply the person you are responding to. Also, if the post is only of use to a LOCAL clientele (e.g. looking for roommates), try and distribute it locally. Flames, almost always, should be emailed because:

• they will get direct attention, rather then be one of many posts.
• the person will not have to defend themselves in open forum, and thus will be more likely to be convinced by you, instead of becoming protectively entrenched in their own position.
• the rest of us do not care to read your diatribe (and some gentle people become hurt by even the notion of flaming). We are NOT impressed by your flaming ability and clever use of vindictive composition.
• you may find yourself in a very awkward position if you misinterpret someone. Due to the nature of this medium, some comments are inevitably going to be taken the wrong way. Don't compound the error by shrieking.
• will your comment settle the issue once and for all, or just add fuel to the fire? If you think the former, you're probably wrong... everybody wants the last word.

3) Request email replies for specific information.

If you want some info on something that many people may know, ask for email responses. That way you don't generate 15 responses like the inevitable Llama-chorus lyrics request. Also, make sure you offer the response to anyone who would like to also have that info. If you get enough requests for the information, perhaps a posting of findings is proper. Otherwise, you get the info (and therefore you get the 15 responses) and then email it to those who also want it.

4) Avoid multiple postings by not answering a question immediately.

How many times have we seen 15 responses to a question that's already in the FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) file? When someone asks a question that has already been discussed, don't respond that minute. First, decide if email is the best response. If you still think it's a good idea to post a response, at least read the rest of the list, or even better, wait a day to see if someone else responded.

5) Newcomers are people too! (FAQ and subscribe/unsubscribe)

It is NOT someone's fault just because they are a newcomer. How could they know the Llama lyrics problem had been discussed to death? Have some patience for goodness sakes, try to put yourself in their shoes. For example, how is it possible that a newcomer would know what the FAQ file even is? The great irony is that we've set up a system whereby the only people who know where the answers are located, are the ones who already know the answers! Only someone who is familiar with USENET even knows that news.groups have an FAQ file. Our group is very likely to attract people who have never been involved with USENET before, and therefore have no knowledge of FAQ's or netiquette.

Because of this reason, I'm directing this post to YOU who are already on the net! Someone who subscribes next week may never see this. This person is *guaranteed* to ask an FAQ. It's important they we handle that person as a peer, and not a subordinate. This also covers people who subscribe to the list rather than the "request" address. If they knew about the request-site, they'd use it! Finally, you should unsubscribe yourself when you leave for an extended period of time (e.g. collegiate summer vacation). This will keep system administrators from sending batches of "unsubscribes" in the spring.

6) Be specific.

Remember you're typing, not speaking. Because of this, many "obvious" things to you are not obvious to your audience. That's why we have the smiley [ :-) ] symbol (look at it sideways), to denote sarcasm or humor. A perfect example of being ambiguous was someone who wrote, "*I* always thought the words were...." Someone else was upset at the fact that this person was not only wrong, but also had clearly set themselves up as an authority due to the emphasis on the "*I*"! The author meant "*I*" in a self-deprecating way, to mean more of a "well here's one lowly opinion, take it for what its worth." Notice that these two construals of the writing are _direct_opposites_! If we heard the person speak, it would be easy to tell exactly which one he meant. Even though the use of smileys might be considered an abuse of punctuation and a reduction of humor (like a laugh track), they are necessary in this medium of interactive, yet one-way, communication. People write as if they were speaking, but it is impossible to register emotional tone or facial expression. Remember, not everyone else is as clever as you think you might be. Beware of ambiguity, and use smileys!

7) Trim the post you're responding to as much as possible.

If you're reacting to one line, don't include the whole post, edit out what you don't need. One thing to beware of, though, is taking words out of context. Also, make sure you attribute the quote to the right person. It gets a little tricky when you're responding to a response to a response to a response...

8) Try to avoid long meta-discussions and long off-topic discussions

There's nothing wrong with a meta-post or an off-topic thread every now and then. However, when there are twenty ongoing messages between 2 people, the community grows tired of it. As usual, take it to email. In that vein, please respond to this meta-post via email unless you have something which you think is important to the whole community. [Telling me I'm some pompous, self-involved, net-dictator is probably not important to everyone else. Email me, eh? We'll discuss why you didn't read (10) and what species I think your mother is.]

9) Avoid "Me, too", "Thank you", and spelling correction posts.

Posts that add nothing to the discussion, like a "me, too!" or "thank you" really aren't necessary. And it so often happens that these two word posts are accompanied by a completely untrimmed article and a 20 line .signature. If there's a debate about something, add to it! If there's a mixed reaction to a show, tell us how you felt. We've already seen the first article, we don't need to see it again. Thank people via email. And please, NEVER post to tell someone they spelled something wrong or their grammar is incorrect. Email them. That way you can get their four-letter response personally.

10) To thine own self be true.

These are _my_ heuristics, for _me_. I don't insist that you adopt them, nor will I ever try to enforce them. If they seem like good ideas, by all means use them or adapt them for your use. I developed them from netiquette readings, psychology, common sense, and common courtesy. Remember, everything you write is going to be read by lots of people. Think before you type - it's a matter of strife and breadth.