Interpersonal Communication- A Mindful Approach to Relationships, 2020a

First, our definition of netiquette emphasizes that different contexts can create different netiquette needs.
Specifically, how one communicates professionally and how one communicates socially are often quite
different. For example, you may find it entirely appropriate to say, “What’s up?!” at the beginning of an
email to a friend, but you would not find it appropriate to start an email to your boss in this same fashion.
Furthermore, it may be entirely appropriate to downplay or disregard spelling errors or grammatical
problems in a text you send to a friend, but it is completely inappropriate to have those same errors
and problems in a text sent to a professional-client or coworker. One of the biggest challenges many
employers have with young employees who are fresh out of college is that they don’t know how to
differentiate between appropriate and inappropriate communicative behavior in differing contexts.
This lack of professionalism is also a problem commonly discussed by college and university faculty
and staff. Think about the last email you sent to one of your professors? Was this email professional?
Did you remember to sign your name? You’d be amazed at the lack of professionalism many college
and university faculty and staff see in the emails sent by your peers. Here are some general guidelines for
sending professional emails:
• Include a concise, direct subject line.
• Do not mark something as “urgent” unless it really is.
• Begin with a proper greeting (Dear Mr. X, Professor Y:, etc.)
• Double-check your grammar.
• Correct any spelling mistakes.
• Include only essential information. Be concise.
• State your intention clearly and directly.
• Make sure your message is logically organized.
• Be polite and ensure your tone is appropriate.
• Avoid all CAPS or all lowercase letters.
• Avoid “textspeak” (e.g., plz, lol)
• If you want the recipient to do something, make the desired action very clear.
• End with a polite closing (using “please” and “thank you”).
• Do not send an email if you’re angry or upset.
• Edit and proofread before hitting “send.”
• Use “Reply All” selectively (very selectively)
Rules and Norms
Second, our definition of netiquette combines both rules and norms. Part of being a competent
communicator in a CMC environment is knowing what the rules are and respecting them. For example,
if you know that Twitter’s rules ban hate speech, then engaging in hate speech using the Twitter platform
shows a disregard for the rules and would not be considered appropriate behavior. In essence, hate
speech is anti-netiquette. We also do not want to ignore the fact that in different CMC contexts, different
norms often develop. For example, maybe you’re taking an online course and you’re required to engage
in weekly discussions. One common norm in an online class is to check the previously replies to a post
before posting your reply. If you don’t, then you are jumping into a conversation that’s already occurred
and throwing your two-cents in without knowing what’s happening.
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