The Online World resources handbook

Practical tips http://home.eunet.no/~presno/bok/12.html
and use in your own writing. What you can not do, however, is to copy news raw to resell to others. If
an online service discovers that you're doing that, expect a law suit.
Read copyright notices to learn about the limitations on your usage of data that you receive.
Unwritten laws about personal conduct
Some services let their users be anonymous. This is the case on many chat services. If you want to
pose as Donald Duck or Jack the Ripper, just do that.
Many free BBS systems let you register for full access to the service during your first visit. It is
possible to use any name. Don't do that. Use your true name, unless asked to do otherwise. It's
impolite and unrespectful of the other members to participate in online discussions using a false
identity.
Being helpful is an important aspect of the online world. The people you meet use their time to
help you and others. Often for free. The atmosphere is therefore often one of gratitude, and a positive
attitude toward all members of the various groups.
If you use rude words in public, expect your mailbox to fill with angry messages from others.
Those who respond carefully to personal attacks, will never regret it. Don't say things online that you
would not have said in person.
REMEMBER: Words written in a moment of anger or frustration may be stored on at least one
hard disk. Your 'sins' may stay there for a long time to resurface when you least want it to.
Here are some guidelines (often called 'online netiquette'):
If mail to a person doesn't make it through, avoid posting the message to a
conference. Keep private messages private.
It is considered extremely bad taste to post private mail from someone else on
public conferences, unless they give you explicit permission to redistribute it.
Many users end their messages with some lines about how to reach them (their
email address, phone number, address, etc.). Limit your personal "signature" to
four lines.
Hint: Do not include a signature when sending commands to email based services.
It can confuse the servers.
Do not send test messages to a public conference, unless they are set up to
serve this purpose.
If someone requests that readers reply by private email, do that. Do not send to
the conference, where the request appeared.
When replying to a message in a public conference, many users 'quote' the
original message prefixed by '>' or another special character, as in
You wrote:
>I strongly believe it was wrong to attack
>)LGHO &DVWUR LQ WKLV ZD\
When you quote another person, edit out whatever isn't directly applicable to your
reply. By including the entire message, you'll only annoy those reading it.
Note that if you USE ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, people will think you are shouting.
For more on "netiquette," join the mailing list of the same name. In the owner's own word, it is
devoted to network etiquette, the informal set of rules, civilities, and social graces that
have evolved in cyberspace, the do's and don'ts of online behavior. What are the rules?
How have they evolved? How can responsible net.citizens avoid breaches of Netiquette?
How should we respond to the breaches of others? Is flaming an art and if so, how can it
be mastered? What's being said about Netiquette on the net and in the media?
To subscribe, send email to netiquette request@albion.com with the following command in the subject
field:
subscribe Firstname Lastname
For a copy of the "Core Rules of Netiquette" document, send an email to the same address with the
following text in the subject field:
archive send core
Finally, smile with me about the following story: According to Time Magazine (7/19/93, p. 58), three
women who corresponded with Mr. X over the network discovered his duplicity and went public on the
network. The incident sparked a lively debate over electronic etiquette (and ruined Mr. Casanova's
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