Netiquette at Free Geek
Netiquette is a word used to describe good manners or etiquette on the internet. While there are a few rules which may seem arbitrary, most of it is just common sense. For a more complete discussion of what netiquette means, the following links might be useful:
- Netiquette Core Rules
- Netiquette on Wikipedia
- [RFC 1855] - Netiquette Guidelines
Free Geek's email lists are set up for several purposes. Before posting, make sure your email fits in one of those categories.
- Facilitate communication within and between working groups
- Allow those who can't always make it to the facility to participate and keep up-to-date
- Create a set of archives for reference
- Create a way for those outside of the Free Geek community to contact the group relevant to their interest
Email communication combines the immediacy of face to face contact with a total lack of facial and postural cues as to the other person's intent. As a result it is difficult to be accurate about the emotional intent of a message. In order to get around this, do two things:
- Give the other person the benefit of the doubt. Be very cautious about snapping back.
- Recognize that your words may be greeted as much more harsh than you intended.
ALL CAPS is regarded as shouting, and is never appropriate for an email list. If you feel a need to shout, you need to take it off list, and probably shouldn't do it at all.
Send emails only to appropriate lists - check list descriptions if you're not sure
Snip out irrelevant comments
Craft relevant and specific subject headings
Plain text
Go easy on the cross-posting
When to take your reply off-list
Avoid attaching files: mailman refuses to handle it, won't go into archive. Refer to URL.
Flaming defined and results of at FG