Netiquette — the art of communicating online

Communication has always been key to society, however with so many people now living and working wholly or partially at a distance, it has never been more important to be polite when interacting with others.

As many people are living with extra stress in their lives, being kind can go along way.

This is where the term ‘netiquette’ comes in.

A hybrid of the words ‘net etiquette’, it covers the rules of online communication and good behaviour.

While any form of contact should be polite and professional when communicating with others, in an online environment it also sets a standard in terms of what we too can expect from others.

The principles of online communication are naturally similar to those for face-to-face conversation but there are some important differences too.

Examples include:

• Thanking, acknowledging and supporting people. This is because people cannot see you nod, smile or frown as they read any written message you have sent them. And, if there is no acknowledgement that you have received their own messages then they may feel ignored, overlooked or unseen. This can be damaging in the long run and can cause those you are communicating with to not want to contribute in the future. So, it is important to close the communication loop.
• Acknowledging before differing. Before you disagree with someone, try to summarise the other person’s point in your own words. This means that the other person (or people) know you are trying to understand their point of view and will be more likely to take your view seriously, as well as feeling that their opinion is valued.
• Making your perspective clear. Try to avoid speaking in a dogmatic and an impersonal way. This can mean avoiding phrases like ‘It is a fact that …’ as they leave no room for anyone else’s perspective. So, why not start with ‘I think …’ or “I feel…’ or ‘I would suggest…’?. If your message would be better done face-to-face, you should always make time for a quick chat using a video conference system.
• Clearly showing your emotions. Smileys or emoticons such as😀 and 🙁 can be a straightforward way of expressing your feelings. Other possibilities are using punctuation (? or !). Most online platforms, allow you to use graphic emoticons to express a variety of emotions. Emotions can be easily misunderstood when you cannot see faces or body language. People may not realise when you are joking, and one person’s joke may not seem amusing to someone else. You should always be aware of the receiver(s) of your message, particularly as people from widely differing cultures and backgrounds may read what you write online. What you find funny or if you are just being direct, it may be offensive to others.
• Another point to consider is to avoiding ‘flaming’. If you read something that offends or upsets you, it is very tempting to dash off a reply and hit ‘Send’ — but beware! Online interactions are particularly prone to such ‘flames’, and can escalate into a spiral of angry messages or of someone disconnecting from the process and feeling they need to ‘step away’, which may cause communication issues. So if you feel that your blood is starting to boil as you write, then it is time to save the message in draft and come back to it after a break or even another day. Whatever you do, do not hit ‘Send’!

And finally, in the event of an online communication fail, just own up to it. Perhaps you should email the person involved separately — or even better, as suggested above, offer to have an online meeting with them so that they can see you are sincere and apologise to their face.

If you send an email to the individual and others are copied into it then it may look as if you are trying to save your own face, as opposed to actually apologising in way that is meaningful and sincere.

Communicating online is simply about needing to be clear, to the point, and polite 😃.

Originally published at https://thefpost.substack.com.