Netiquette: 7 Common Netiquette Rules

Netiquette—a combination of the words “net” and “etiquette”—is the code of conduct that internet users may follow for polite, respectful interactions online.

Just as cultures follow rules of in-person etiquette to foster polite interactions in the physical world, netiquette helps promote polite interactions in the digital world. With a common set of netiquette guidelines, internet users can feel confident that their communication with others online—both when writing and when reading—will be respectful and considerate.

While the rules of netiquette vary by context, here are a few basic rules that most internet users follow for polite communication:

1. 1. Abide by in-person etiquette standards. The internet offers a high degree of anonymity, which encourages some users to act out in ways they never would in real life—for instance, starting arguments, verbally abusing others, engaging in cyberbullying, starting “flame wars,” or spreading false information. Good netiquette encourages you to follow the same code of ethics in cyberspace that you do in the real world to protect your reputation and friendships. Remember that all the people you interact with online are real people with feelings, strengths, and weaknesses.
2. 2. Check your sources. It’s easy to spread information online, and many internet users may share content that contains erroneous information or even deliberate falsehoods. Avoid spreading misinformation or reposting content you haven’t verified as accurate.
   
3. 3. Keep communication brief. Respect people’s time and bandwidth by keeping emails, chats, and other directed communication brief. Many people’s attention spans are shorter with online reading than they are for in-person reading, so avoid writing extra-long posts or comments.
4. 4. Limit sarcasm. Sarcasm is a common tool that many cultures use in face-to-face communication, and it relies on context clues, body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice to indicate to listeners that the speaker is being sarcastic. Online communication—since it’s primarily text only—can struggle to indicate sarcasm, resulting in readers taking sarcastic comments seriously. For proper netiquette, limit your use of sarcasm to avoid misunderstandings.
5. 5. Pay attention to the situation. Internet communication can vary widely depending on the context—for instance, you’ll communicate much more formally in an email correspondence with a colleague or a discussion post for an online class than you would in a chat conversation with your best friend. Pay attention to the different avenues for communication and use each context to help you decide what core rules of netiquette to follow for your online behavior. The formality of each situation will help you decide if you should use things like emoticons and smileys, textspeak and abbreviations, or proper capitalization.
6. 6. Respect people’s privacy. Many people want to limit their use of personal information on public, username-based websites and forums so others can’t abuse the information or put them in danger. On these sites, avoid requesting too much personal information to respect the privacy of others.
7. 7. Use all caps sparingly. Using all capital letters usually comes across as yelling and can overwhelm readers. Avoid using all caps in most internet writing, especially in public or more formal settings.

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