Etiquette in technology, colloquially referred to as netiquette is a term used to refer to the unofficial code of policies that encourage good behavior on the Internet which is used to regulate respect and polite behavior on social media platforms, online chatting sites, web forums, and other online engagement websites. The rules of etiquette that apply when communicating over the Internet are different from these applied when communicating in person or by audio (such as telephone) or videophone. It is a social code that is used in all places where one can interact with other human beings via the Internet, including

text messaging Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and sending electronic messages, typically consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters, between two or more users of mobile devices, desktops/ laptops, or another type of compatible compu ...

email Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" mean ...

, online games,

Internet forum An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are often longer than one line of text, and are at least tempora ...

chat rooms The term chat room, or chatroom (and sometimes group chat; abbreviated as GC), is primarily used to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing. The term can thus mean any technology, ranging from ...

, and many more. Although social

etiquette Etiquette () is the set of norms of personal behaviour in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviours that accord with the conventions and norms observed and practised by a ...

in real life is ingrained into our social life, netiquette is a fairly recent concept. It can be a challenge to communicate on the Internet without misunderstandings mainly because input from

facial expression A facial expression is one or more motions or positions of the muscles beneath the skin of the face. According to one set of controversial theories, these movements convey the emotional state of an individual to observers. Facial expressions are ...

s and

body language Body language is a type of communication in which physical behaviors, as opposed to words, are used to express or convey information. Such behavior includes facial expressions, body posture, gestures, eye movement, touch and the use of space. Th ...

is absent in

cyberspace Cyberspace is a concept describing a widespread interconnected digital technology. "The expression dates back from the first decade of the diffusion of the internet. It refers to the online world as a world 'apart', as distinct from everyday re ...

. Therefore, several rules, in an attempt to safeguard against these misunderstandings and to discourage unfriendly behavior, are regularly put in place at many websites, and often enforced by moderation by the website's users or administrators.

Netiquette

Netiquette, a

colloquial Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom normally employed in convers ...

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsnetwork'' and ''

'' or ''

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a ''internetworking, network of networks'' that consists ...

'' and ''etiquette'', is a set of social conventions that facilitate interaction over networks, ranging from

Usenet Usenet () is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it was ...

and mailing lists to

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

s and forums. Like the network itself, these developing norms remain in a state of flux and vary from community to community. The points most strongly emphasised about Usenet netiquette often include using simple electronic signatures, and avoiding multiposting, cross-posting, off-topic posting, hijacking a discussion thread, and other techniques used to minimize the effort required to read a post or a thread. Similarly, some Usenet guidelines call for use of unabbreviated English while users of

instant messaging Instant messaging (IM) technology is a type of online chat allowing real-time text transmission over the Internet or another computer network. Messages are typically transmitted between two or more parties, when each user inputs text and trigge ...

protocols like

SMS Short Message/Messaging Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile devices exchange short text ...

occasionally encourage just the opposite, bolstering use of

SMS language Short Message Service (SMS) language, textism, or textese is the abbreviated language and slang commonly used in the late 1990s and early 2000s with mobile phone text messaging, and occasionally through Internet-based communication such as em ...

. Common rules for

e-mail Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" mean ...

'' The Complete Idiot's Guide to... Writing Well'' By Laurie Rozakis, https://books.google.com/books?id=YFIEfqL48AMC&pg=PA348&dq=netiquette&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=t9ZuKcbWOymIy9oNrRAy9ZfAikI#PPA348,M1 and Usenet such as avoiding

flamewars Flaming or roasting is the act of posting insults, often including profanity or other offensive language, on the internet. This term should not be confused with the term trolling, which is the act of someone going online, or in person, and causing ...

and spam are constant across most mediums and communities. Another rule is to avoid typing in

all caps In typography, all caps (short for "all capitals") refers to text or a font in which all letters are capital letters, for example: "THIS TEXT IS IN ALL CAPS". All caps may be used for emphasis (for a word or phrase). They are commonly seen in ...

or excessively enlarging script for emphasis, which is considered to be the equivalent of shouting or yelling. Other commonly shared points, such as remembering that one's posts are (or can easily be made) public, are generally intuitively understood by publishers of Web pages and posters to Usenet, although this rule is somewhat flexible depending on the environment. On more private protocols, however, such as e-mail and SMS, some users take the privacy of their posts for granted. One-on-one communications, such as private messages on chat forums and direct SMS, may be considered more private than other such protocols. A group e-mail sent by Cerner CEO Neal Patterson to managers of a facility in Kansas City concerning "Cerner's declining work ethic" read, in part, "The parking lot is sparsely used at 8 A.M.; likewise at 5 P.M. As managers—you either do not know what your EMPLOYEES are doing, or YOU do not CARE ... In either case, you have a problem and you will fix it or I will replace you." After the e-mail was forwarded to hundreds of other employees, it quickly leaked to the public. On the day that the e-mail was posted to

Yahoo! Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo! Inc. (2017–present), Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds ma ...

, Cerner's stock price fell by over 22% from a high market capitalization of US$1.5 billion.''E-Mail Rules: A Business Guide to Managing Policies, Security, and Legal Issues for E-Mail and Digital Communications'' By Randolph Kahn & Nancy Flynn https://books.google.com/books?id=Q9CbhiflZh0C&pg=PA45&dq=netiquette&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=5jsrxx0u3qWX1_d4KXCl-_4Tc_4#PPA47,M1 Beyond matters of basic courtesy and privacy, e-mail syntax (defined by RFC 2822) allows for different types of recipients. The primary recipient, defined by the To: line, can reasonably be expected to respond, but recipients of

carbon copies Before the development of photographic copiers, a carbon copy was the under-copy of a typed or written document placed over carbon paper and the under-copy sheet itself (not to be confused with the carbon print family of photographic reproduc ...

cannot be, although they still might. Likewise, misuse of the CC: functions in lieu of traditional mailing lists can result in serious technical issues. In late 2007, employees of the United States

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-te ...

used large CC: lists in place of a mailing list to broadcast messages to several hundred users. Misuse of the "reply to all" caused the number of responses to that message to quickly expand to some two million messages, bringing down their mail server. In cases like this, rules of netiquette have more to do with efficient sharing of resources—ensuring that the associated technology continues to function—rather than more basic etiquette. On Usenet, cross-posting, in which a single copy of a message is posted to multiple groups is intended to prevent this from happening, but many newsgroups frown on the practice, as it means users must sometimes read many copies of a message in multiple groups. When referring to a previous discussion or expertise, quote a few lines instead of entire paragraphs. Select quotes that provides enough description without hindering the progression of a discussion and detracting from our own points. Be brief, and don't write out dissertations for simple questions; if you post long to reply to simple questions for advice, many will be unlikely to read it. Due to the large variation between what is considered acceptable behavior in various professional environments and between professional and social networks, codified internal

manuals of style A style guide or manual of style is a set of standards for the writing, formatting, and design of documents. It is often called a style sheet, although that term also has multiple other meanings. The standards can be applied either for gene ...

can help clarify acceptable limits and boundaries for user behavior. For instance, failure to publish such a guide for e-mail style was cited among the reasons for an NZ$17,000 wrongful dismissal finding against a firm that fired a woman for misuse of

in company-wide e-mail traffic.Moore, Matthew.
Office worker sacked for writing emails in block capitals
. Daily Telegraph, Sep 1, 2009. Accessed May 20, 2010.

Netiquette in South Korea

In South Korea, the Korea Internet Safety Commission declared the 'Netizen Ethics Code' on June 15, 2000, and the Ministry of Education prepared the 'Information Communication Ethics Education Guidelines' in early 2001. Therefore, some middle and high schools started to provide education on netiquette. The basic netiquette education contents of South Korea are as follows. The writing on a noticeboard should be written clearly and concisely, used by grammar and Korean spelling, and avoid excessive refutation of other people's writings. An e-mail should identify itself and send a letter. When chatting, you should introduce yourself first, engage in conversation, use the title "Nim," and slander, abuse, or sarcastic remarks should be prudent. Furthermore, it is against etiquette to repeat the same words at once, and you must greeting when you come out of a chat. Besides, sexual harassment, stalking, and the use of expletive should not be allowed.

Digital citizenship

''Digital citizenship'' is how a

person A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...

should act while using digital technology online and has also been defined as "the ability to participate in society online". The term is often mentioned in relation to

Internet safety Internet safety or online safety or cyber safety and E-Safety is trying to be safe on the internet and is the act of maximizing a user's awareness of personal safety and security risks to private information and property associated with using the ...

and netiquette. The term has been used as early as 1998 and has gone through several changes in description as newer technological advances have changed the method and frequency of how people interact with one another online. Classes on digital citizenship have been taught in some public education systems and some argue that the term can be "measured in terms of economic and political activities online".

Cell phone etiquette

FGW HST Standard Class coach A headrest cover 2005-06-09

The issue of mobile communication and etiquette has also become an issue of academic interest. The rapid adoption of the device has resulted in the intrusion of telephony into situations where it was previously not used. This has exposed the implicit rules of courtesy and opened them to re-evaluation.

In the education system

Most schools in the United States, Europe and Canada have prohibited mobile phones in the classroom, citing class disruptions and the potential for cheating via text messaging. In the UK, possession of a mobile phone in an examination can result in immediate disqualification from that subject or from all that student's subjects. This still applies even if the mobile phone was not turned on at the time. In

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, students were banned from taking cell phones to school until 2015. This has been a debate for several years, but finally passed legislature in 2008.
Medina, Jennifer "Most schools allow students to have cell phones for safety purposes"—a reaction to the

Columbine High School massacre On April 20, 1999, a school shooting and attempted bombing occurred at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States. The perpetrators, twelfth grade, 12th grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 12 students and ...

(Lipscomb 2007: 50). Apart from emergency situations, most schools don't officially allow students to use cell phones during class time.

In the public sphere

Talking or texting on a cell phone in public may seem a distraction for many individuals. When in public there are two times when one uses a phone. The first is when the user is alone; the other is when the user is in a group. The main issue for most people is when they are in a group, and the cell phone becomes a distraction or a barrier for successful socialization among family and friends. In the past few years, society has become less tolerant of cell phone use in public areas; for example, public transportation, restaurants and much more. This is exemplified by the widespread recognition of campaigns such as Stop Phubbing, which prompted discussion as to how mobile phones should be used in the presence of others. "Some have suggested that mobile phones 'affect every aspect of our personal and professional lives either directly or indirectly'" (Humphrey). Every culture's tolerance of cell phone usage varies; for instance in Western society cell phones are permissible during free time at schools, whereas in the Eastern countries, cell phones are strictly prohibited on school property. Mobile phone use can be an important matter of social discourtesy, such as phones ringing during funerals or weddings, in toilets, cinemas and theatres. Some book shops, libraries, bathrooms, cinemas, doctors' offices and places of worship prohibit their use, so that other patrons will not be disturbed by conversations. Some facilities install signal-jamming equipment to prevent their use. Some new auditoriums have installed wire mesh in the walls to make a Faraday cage, which prevents signal penetration without violating signal jamming laws. A working group made up of Finnish telephone companies, public transport operators and communications authorities has launched a campaign to remind mobile phone users of courtesy, especially when using mass transit—what to talk about on the phone, and how to. In particular, the campaign wants to impact loud mobile phone usage as well as calls regarding sensitive matters. Trains, particularly those involving long-distance services, often offer a "quiet carriage" where phone use is prohibited, much like the designated non-smoking carriage of the past. In the UK however many users tend to ignore this as it is rarely enforced, especially if the other carriages are crowded and they have no choice but to go in the "quiet carriage". In Japan, it is generally considered impolite to talk using a phone on any train; e-mailing is generally the mode of mobile communication. Mobile phone usage on local public transport is also increasingly seen as a nuisance; the Austrian city of

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popu ...

, for instance, has mandated a total ban of mobile phones on its tram and bus network in 2008 (though texting and emailing is still allowed).

Nancy J. Friedman Nancy J. Friedman (known in her business persona as the "Telephone Doctor") is an American customer service and telephone skills consultant. Nancy Friedman is founder and president of Telephone Doctor, a customer-service training company based in ...

has spoken widely about landline and cell phone etiquette.

Within social relationships

When critically assessing the family structure, it is important to examine the parent/child negotiations which occur in the household, in relation to the increased use of cell phones. Teenagers use their cell phones as a way to negotiate spatial boundaries with their parents (Williams 2005:316). This includes extending curfews in the public space and allowing more freedom for the teenagers when they are outside of the home (Williams 2005:318). More importantly, cell phone etiquette relates to kinship groups and the family as an institution. This is because cell phones act as a threat due to the rapid disconnect within families. Children are often so closely affiliated with their technological gadgets, and they tend to interact with their friends constantly and this has a negative impact on their relationship with their parents (Williams 2005:326). Teenagers see themselves as gaining a sense of empowerment from the mobile phone. Cell phone etiquette in the household from an anthropological perspective has shown an evolution in the institution of family. The mobile phone has now been integrated into family practices and perpetuated a wider concern which is the fracture between parent and child relationships. We are able to see the traditional values disappearing; however, reflexive monitoring is occurring (Williams 2005:320). Through this, parents are becoming friendlier with their children and critics emphasize that this change is problematic because children should be subjected to social control. One way of social control is limiting the time spent interacting with friends, which is difficult to do in today's society because of the rapid use of cell phones.

Netiquette vs. cell phone etiquette

Cell phone etiquette is largely dependent on the cultural context and what is deemed to be socially acceptable. For instance, in certain cultures using your handheld devices while interacting in a group environment is considered bad manners, whereas, in other cultures around the world it may be viewed differently. In addition, cell phone etiquette also encompasses the various types of activities which are occurring and the nature of the messages which are being sent. More importantly, messages of an inappropriate nature can be sent to an individual and this could potentially orchestrate problems such as verbal/cyber abuse.

New technology and behavior

One of the biggest obstacles to communication in online settings is the lack of emotional cues. Facial cues dictate the mood and corresponding diction of people in conversations. During phone conversations, tone of voice communicates the emotions of the speakers removed on opposite sides of phone lines. Conversely, in chat rooms, instant messaging apps, texting, and other text-based commmunication, signals that would indicate a person's emotional state are absent. Because of this, accommodations have been developed, notably the use of emoticons and abbreviations. Emoticons use punctuation marks and symbols to graphically represent facial expressions. For example, a colon and

parenthesis A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'r ...

can be used to represt a smiling face, indicating hqppiness or satisfaction. To symbolize laughter, the abbreviation "LOL" (standing for "laughing out loud") developed. Other commonly used abbreviations are "BRB" ("be right back") and "TTYL" ("talk to you later"). Now, as newer modes of communication become increasingly common, apps such as

Snapchat Snapchat is an American multimedia instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of Snapchat is that pictures and messages are usually only available for a short time before th ...

are growing to develop platform-specific rules and etiquette. Snapchar lets a user send pictures or videos that disappear after several seconds. Although it is entirely possible to make use of Snapchat for the purpose of sexting, namely sending nude and erotic photos, originally compared to InstagramGross, Doug. "Snapchat: Sexting Tool, or the next Instagram?" CNN. Cable News Network, 10 January 2013. Web. 1 May 2014. by way of the app's ability to broadcast pictures to many people, it has now become standard to communicate through Snapchat by sending pictures back and forth and using the caption bar for messages. The reply option on Snapchat specifically promotes this behavior, but Snapchat etiquette is not set in stone. Some people use Snapchat specifically for the purpose of communication, while some use it to simply provide a visual update of their day. The newest update to Snapchat, an instant messaging add-on, seems to be catered to those who use the app to send messages back and forth.

References

Technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, scie ...

Internet culture