Netiquette

To get the most out of the Internet it helps to know the informal rules of behaviour that have emerged over the years. The Internet is an electronic community and, like other communities, people there have their own way of behaving and relating to each other. The most important rules are to do with Newsgroups. Here are some points to bear in mind.

Don't...

Advertise on newsgroups, or send commercial offers to multiple newsgroups. This is bound to backfire in unpleasant ways and may result in BTinternet being obliged to terminate your account.

Assume that people in a newsgroup are a unit. They are just a group of individuals, like you, who have got together to discuss topics of interest. They are not really a club and shouldn't be addressed as such. They do not have to answer questions and certainly not as a group.

Post very large files. If a posting is a long piece of text (i.e. more than about 50-100 lines) mark it as "long" in the title. If it is a picture, place it in an archive and post a message telling people how to get it. This is because many people pay for the time spent getting files and it is polite to avoid burdening them with expenses they may choose to avoid.

Do...

Remember that millions of people may be reading what you post to a newsgroup. Make sure it is polite, well informed and something you will be happy about later. Try to keep postings constructive and friendly, even when you are correcting what may seem like stupid errors. We all make mistakes and what leaves the keyboard cool may be very hot indeed when it is read in front of a large audience.

Keep your remarks relevant to the topic of the group. You may be deeply concerned about some political or religious issue, but rec.boats.building people are probably more concerned with building boats and may react badly to postings about other topics.

Find the right group for your interests. If in doubt, ask.

Read the FAQ for a group before posting. If you do not see it after a couple of weeks, write a brief post asking where to find it.

If despite taking all these precautions, someone flames you (i.e. writes very rude things to or about you), DO NOT REPLY IN KIND. Put it down to experience, tell yourself it is their loss, and move on. Have fun!