Classroom using the web

Learning the Language of the Net

Classroom

[ introduction ]
[ top ten tips for happy internet-ing]
[ acronyms and smileys ]
 

[ introduction ]
[ top ten tips for happy internet-ing]
[ acronyms and smileys ]

[ introduction ]
[ top ten tips for happy internet-ing]
[ acronyms and smileys ]

[ introduction ]
[ top ten tips for happy internet-ing]
[ acronyms and smileys ]

Learning the Language of the Net
Commonly used acronyms, smileys and netiquette for the newbie

Remember that the best way to get the hang of the social niceties of the internet is to use it. Don't be put off if you get flamed (receive an angry response from someone who didn't like what you said or how you said it), it happens to everyone at some time or another. Just sit back, calm down, take a deep breath and read our handy guide to general netiquette.

Top Ten Tips for a peaceful and happy Internet existence.

1. Don't write messages all in capital letters, even if you're in a hurry, accidentally left the caps lock on, whateverŠ. IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU ARE SHOUTING AND IS ACTUALLY QUITE DIFFICULT TO READ.

2. Keep your messages short and to the point. This doesn't mean you have to abbreviate everything, just cut out unnecessary quoting of previous email (*without* losing the meaning!). The longer the messages the longer the download time, and lots of people still pay to use the net per hour, even if you don't. Make you subject lines relevant - that way the person reading it can make an educated decision on whether they consider it a priority, or are even interested in it.

3. Don't put huge attachments on your emails unless you know the person you send it to (a) wants it and (b) has the right software to open it. Whilst you might think that novelty song on MP3 is hilarious and want to share it with everyone you know, your friend who had to wait 40 minutes for it to download and doesn't use MP3s anyway is not going to be happy. If you are sending attachments to newsgroups or mailing lists check this is acceptable by reading the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) of the group.

4. Know when you want to reply to everyone who received a mail and when you don't. If you have been invited to a meeting, you probably only need send a response to the person organising the meeting - not the other 200 people invited!

5. Don't write messages that are off topic if you are writing to a mailing list or newsgroup. Find the forum to share you insight - other people are bound to enjoy what you have to say, and you won't receive so many flames!

6. Also, as an extension of the above, don't spam. Spam is sending adverts to newsgroups and mailing lists. It will annoy lots of people. If you have a site or meeting that you wish to promote you can probably post a single message (preferably written specifically for the members of one newsgroup or mailing list) and that'll be fine, sending adverts to 20,000 newsgroups about something of interest to a tiny fraction of those groups will annoy absolutely everyone (people really do it).

7. Read the FAQ. Always. Even if you think you know everything already! The FAQ will answer all the most popular questions about a subject, including such things as where to find more information on the Internet, and is always the place to start looking when you arrive somewhere new. It is considered lazy and rude to ask a question before looking at the FAQ file.

8. If you have started reading a new newsgroup or mailing list the best thing to do is read the FAQ and then just watch without posting (lurk) for a while. This will give you a chance to see how people interact. Remember, some of these lists and groups will have people on them who have been corresponding for years. Generally people are pretty friendly to newcomers, but if you come in and accidentally insult one of the most popular posters in the group you'll end up on the receiving end of lots of flames!

9. Keep your signature four lines or less and try to avoid the urge to draw huge text pictures or tell everyone your top twenty sites. It's annoying. And even worse when you are sending one-line messages with a fifteen line signature!

10. On the whole 'flame' issue: try not to take it seriously, and try not to respond to it as if you do it can just go on and on and on andŠ you get the idea. Also, don't take flame bait - this is where someone posts a message somewhere which is totally against the ideas of the group just to provoke a reaction (eg going to a newsgroup for a band and posting mails about how awful the band is!) Just ignore people like these. It really isn't worth wasting the bandwidth (or your time!).

Netiquette is mainly an issue of common sense, and treating others as you would wish to be treated. Don't worry if you make the odd mistake to start with, everyone was a beginner at one time and people tend to be quite forgiving about slip ups. And the more you use the internet the easier the whole issue of netiquette will become - you'll end up following it without even realising!
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Acronyms & Smileys

Although when you first get going on the net it seems like the place is full of strange symbols, signs and stupid rules, there is a kind of method (and even sometimes a logic) to the madness.

People use common abbreviations to keep messages short (particularly on newsgroups and internet chat). Some of the most well known ones are:

AFAICT As far as I can tell
AFAIK As far as I know
AFK Away from keyboard
A/S/L? What's your age, sex and location?

B4 Before
BAK Back at keyboard
BBL Be back later
BCNU Be seeing you
BRB Be right back (in chat rooms)
BTW By the way

CUL See you later

F2F Face to face
FAQ Frequently asked questions
FOAF Friend of a friend
FOC Free of charge
FWIW For what it's worth
FYI For your information

G Grin
GD&R Grins, ducks and runs

IMHO In my humble opinion (sometimes IMO - in my opinion)

JAM Just a minute

L8R Later
LOL Laughing out loud

OIC Oh I see
OTOH On the other hand
OTT Over the top

ROFL Rolling on the floor laughing
ROFLMAO Rolling on the floor laughing my a*** off
RUOK? Are you ok?

SO Significant other

TNX Thanks
TTFN Ta ta for now
TTYL Talk to you later

WYSIWYG What you see is what you get

Emoticons (also known as smileys) are also used as a way of getting across how people feel using a few characters (turn your head to the left to see the face). The most popular ones include:

:-) or :) Happy
:-( or :( Sad
:-o Surprised
:-D Laughing
;-) Winking

There are lots more elaborate ones out there:

8-) Person with glasses

You can use a smiley to underline the meaning of your words The problem with sending messages rather than speaking face to face is that sometimes comments sound harsh or sarcastic when they actually aren't. Using smileys makes it less likely people will misunderstand the meaning of your message, so if in doubt smile!
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And now you're ready for the next tutorial: Internet Connections