I had my first clash with netiquette when I was very young, I guess three or four, and my mother kindly reproached me because I was being rude to someone - I hadn't said "good morning" or something the like.
There was no internet back then, I know, but the very basic concept of what now it's called "netiquette" is... "etiquette", or "good manners", so what is rude in the "real" world is rude in the "virtual" world.
I have no intention of patronising anyone, but since I've been unsuccessful in finding one simple set of netiquette rules that could encompass all the spectrum of social web activities, I decided to sum up my own.
Here is my very short list of rules.
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1 - Think before you type. Read before you write.
2 - Do not treat others in ways that you would not like to be treated.
3 - Truth does not belong to you. You have opinions and points of view - express them clearly but do not impose them to others.
4 - Passionate confrontations are enjoyable, heated conflicts are not! And quiet conversations are better!
5 - Don't spam! Spam is not cool!
6 - Do not feed the trolls. And don't be one!
7 - Do not post copyrighted material to which you do not own the rights. Or ask the owner first. Acknowledge your sources.
8 - Stay on-topic. A joke or a pun is entertaining, a long digression is not.
9 - Google it or search a Wiki before asking. Truth is not there either, but to satisfy your curiosity is really easy nowadays.
10 - Remember that your words will last - everyone, everywhere in the world will be able to read them now and in years to come.
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That's it.
I should not even feel the need to write these "rules" of mine if all of us used common sense on the web as we do in real life. I know that virtually no web service ask you to subscribe a set of rules like these when creating your email, or your profile, but... come on!, in the real world there is no form a child has to sign in order to behave.
Being polite and civil is not something you have to do because you're forced to by law!
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