Email Etiquette or Netiquette
While most of us are familiar with traditional etiquette for letter writing and for telephone conversations, not everyone is aware that there is etiquette for cyberspace. Since most of the instructors here at NCC ask students to communicate through Blackboard or email, here is a brief review of online etiquette or "netiquette" that might be useful in the online setting.
§ First of all, follow your professor's guidelines. Most instructors have established procedures for sending email and participating in discussion forums or chat rooms.
§ Be clear and concise. An instructor who reads two hundred emails a week does not want to read a rambling, unfocused message. Edit and reread your message before you send it.
§ If your email or posting is fairly lengthy, consider dividing it into paragraphs separated by a space line. It's easier to read and helps delineate your points. Some students compose in Word, spell check, then copy and paste into email or the Blackboard discussion forum.
§ Use correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Remember that you are not Instant Messaging to your best bud. Do not use only lower-case letters (too informal) or all capital letters (looks like you're SHOUTING). If your words and thoughts are worth sharing with your instructor and other readers, they are worth writing correctly.
§ Never EVER write anything you wouldn't say to your instructor or classmate face-to-face. Refrain from offensive or abusive language. Assume anything you write could be forwarded to or read by anyone, including the Dean, your sister, and the Pope. There is no such thing as private email. And even deleted messages can be retrieved.
§ To escape the embarrassment of your message going to more people than you intended, check the recipients before you send your email. Be sure your mail is going, for example, to the intended individual ("Reply to Sender") rather than to a larger group ("Reply to All").
§ As a general measure of courtesy, do not send or forward chain letters or junk mail via NCC email. They clog our already over-extended system. For web articles, you might want to send someone the URL rather than the article itself.
